Saints attempting their own ‘bubble’ to cope with COVID-19

The New Orleans Saints are building their own training camp bubble campus to house players, coaches, and staffers amid the COVID-19 pandemic

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Professional sports have tried to resume something looking like normalcy during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, and it’s tough to describe their results as anything but “mixed.” The NBA, WNBA, MLS, and NFL have found success while housing teams in various “bubble” campuses, self-isolating and holding games without fans attending in person.

On the other hand, the MLB has tried to make a go of it without quarantining itself, relying on the honor system and trusting individuals to make smart decisions. Nearly a third of its teams had games postponed this weekend due to an outbreak of infections.

So that leaves the NFL, where starting quarterbacks Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) and Gardner Minshew (Jacksonville Jaguars) are both sidelined after testing positive for infections. Nearly 50 different players leaguewide have entered the league’s COVID-19 protocol, though none of them are members of the New Orleans Saints.

And Saints coach Sean Payton aims to keep it that way, though he’ll be the first to admit how challenging that is. The team has bought out four floors of rooms at the upscale Loews Hotel near the French Quarter to house players, coaches, front office personnel, team doctors, and support staff through September, doing their best to create a bubble for themselves.

“It’s not a bubble,” Payton said to NBC Sports’ Peter King. “It’s a sequester. The message from the league is, ‘The show must go on.’ If so, we’ve got to do everything we can to be sure that happens.”

While it will not be mandatory for players to stay at the hotel, it will be highly encouraged — and King reports Saints captain Demario Davis is pushing his teammates to take advantage of this opportunity. It’s not a perfect strategy, but nothing is in such uncertain times.

Payton summed it up: “Isn’t that what we do for a living? It’s like creating a game plan with a likelihood of success. We’re just trying to increase the odds of success.”

Maybe the NFL will follow Payton’s lead, and encourage all of its teams to better isolate themselves; on the other hand, the league office could again spar with the Saints after taking issue with some of their other adjustments to the offseason, which has been shaken up by the public health crisis. It’s certainly something worth watching out for.

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