With the coronavirus pandemic still ongoing in the country, the NFL and NFLPA required all 32 teams to submit Infectious Disease Emergency Response plans for approval. But with full-team training camp opening next week, the Baltimore Ravens are just one of eight teams to have their IDER plan approved by both the NFL’s chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills as well as the NFLPA, according to the union on Twitter.
The Ravens join the Buffalo Bills, Carolins Panthers, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs, and Miami Dolphins as the only teams officially approved by the NFLPA, with 24 other teams still awaiting review.
All 32 teams have submitted IDER plans–8 of them have been approved and the remaining plans are under review. pic.twitter.com/y8ej5VDZqH
— NFLPA (@NFLPA) July 22, 2020
Every team is required to have their IDER plans submitted and approved by both the league and NFLPA before they can get players on the field for training camp this year. The IDER plans cover how teams will section their personnel into tiers and where those tiers can go within the training facility. It’s an important step in how teams are preparing for the pandemic and their ability to lower the chances of an outbreak.
With rookies reporting to training camp earlier this week and full teams expected to show by July 28, things are coming down to the wire in a rather unusual offseason. The league and union are still negotiating exactly what training camp will look like and the safety protocols being implemented. However, there was an agreement to eliminate all preseason games this year as well as trimming down the training camp roster size for each team from 90 players to 80.
The Ravens are ahead of the curve right now.