Tag: Lions training camp

NFL and NFLPA agree to daily COVID-19 testing for training camp

The agreement alleviates one of the primary concerns for players in reporting to training camps

The NFL and the NFLPA have agreed to a system of daily testing for COVID-19 in order to begin training camps. The agreement ends a huge hurdle that had driven a divisive wedge between players and the league.

One day after many prominent players voiced their concerns over workplace safety and health conditions with the “We Want to Play” hashtag campaign, the agreement mollifies some of the major concern. Players will be tested daily for the first two weeks of training camp, beginning at the time of reporting to the team facilities.

The daily testing will drop to being every other day is the positive test rate falls below 5 percent. That is the threshold for daily testing. Any increase to above 5 percent means a return to daily testing.

The Lions open training camp next week in Allen Park. Fans will not be permitted to attend, as is the case with all 32 NFL teams.

[vertical-gallery id=47172]

 

NFL announces training camps will begin on time

Detroit Lions rookies are expected to report on Tuesday, July 21st

A day after the NFLPA leadership acknowledged they were informed by team doctors that it was acceptable to commence training camps, the NFL mandated that camps will indeed start at their regularly scheduled times.

In a communique to all 32 teams, NFL Executive VP of Football Operations Troy Vincent informed teams that camps will begin with rookies reporting on Tuesday, July 21st for all teams except the Chiefs and Texans, who begin the season early on Thursday night.

Vincent’s letter does not indicate any information on COVID-19 testing or protocols. Those were big issues suggested by NFLPA president JC Tretter and the player’s association leadership in a conference call with reporters on Friday.

The Lions will need to make sure all their accommodations for COVID-19 protection for players, staffers and coaches meet local guidelines as well.

College athletics issues with COVID-19 are an issue for the Lions, NFL

Recent spikes of positive cases of COVID-19 among college athletes spells potential bad news for the NFL

The NFL announced this week that there will be no minicamps for any team. Based on what’s happening with college athletes returning to group workouts and activities, it’s probably a wise decision by the NFL.

The Universit of Houston and Iowa State University have both had resurgence of COVID-19 diagnoses since ramping up their athletic workouts. Houston quickly suspended all voluntary activities for all sports, which were the only current events going on.

It’s a warning against the desire to return to normalcy for the NFL and the other pro sports leagues. Despite the precautions being taken, athletes are still getting new positive diagnoses for COVID-19. It’s important to note there is no reporting on the severity of the cases, but the fact that new cases are directly tied to athletes grouping together and participating in workouts is a harbinger that the NFL is right to take seriously.

Michigan is gradually reopening to business as normal. Michiganders will be able to get haircuts again starting this week. Many high school football programs have kicked off conditioning, with a careful nod to social distancing and disinfection of equipment. But the Lions will not reconvene in Allen Park en masse anytime soon.

[lawrence-related id=45331]

There are still several weeks before training camp kicks off. If more coronavirus situations like what has happened with Houston and Iowa State crop up, it will be a tougher sell for more restrictive states like Michigan to allow a full training camp with actual physical contact. And based on the NFL’s edict that all teams must have the same local authorizations before all can advance to the next portion of the offseason, what’s happening with the colleges could be a real problem for the NFL.

NFL outlines required changes for team facilities due to COVID-19 pandemic

NFL outlines required changes for team facilities due to COVID-19 pandemic in a memo from commissioner Roger Goodell

The NFL is going to look very different in 2020 than it has in past seasons thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Incorporating social distancing, limiting interpersonal contact and constant disinfection of pretty much everything that gets touched are all the new norms for the NFL.

In a memo from Commissioner Roger Goodell, the league laid out some of the requisite changes that all clubs must make to ensure safety for players, coaches, staffers and anyone else involved in making the NFL happen.

Among the changes and adaptations to the coronavirus pandemic for teams:

  • Players, coaches, trainers and team personnel will be separated into three tiers. Access to various parts of team facilities will be limited to only the most essential employees and tiers. This includes having a separate entrance for the tiers.
  • There must be six feet available at all times in the locker room for social distancing between players. That will require some major reconfiguration and possibly the creation of staggered locker room usage or an additional locker room area.
  • Every person entering the facility must be screened with a five-part protocol before being allowed into restricted areas, which includes the locker room, common areas, practice facilities and weight room.
  • No common-area furniture.
  • Increased and frequent cleaning of all common areas and any equipment.
  • Any meeting involving 20 or more people must be done remotely via teleconferencing apps.

There is still no word on training camp dates and protocols, or if fans will be allowed into stadiums for games. Stay tuned…

The memo, as published by NBC Sports’ Albert Breer via Twitter:

No joint practices during Lions training camp for first time since 2015

For the first time since 2015, the Detroit Lions will not have joint practices during training camp.

For the first time since 2015, the Detroit Lions will not have joint practices during training camp.

After initially ruling that NFL teams must run their training camps at their home facilities in 2020, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the league sent a second memo out to teams informing them “that they also will not be allowed to hold joint practices with other teams this summer”.

“In order to mitigate exposure risks,” Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson reported on the memo, “we have agreed that no joint practices will be permitted this year during training camp. We believe that each of these steps will enhance our ability to protect the health and safety of players and your football staffs.”

With pre-season away games at New England and Miami — two coaching staffs with ties to the Lions via their time together at the Patriots — it was very likely the teams would have made arrangements for joint practices ahead of at least one of those games.

The Free Press’ Dave Birkett suggested on Twitter that the Lions and Patriots were hoping to have joint practices in Foxborough, after spending last year in Allen Park.

Be sure to stay tuned to Lions Wire as training camp dates and possible availability for fans to attend the practices are scheduled.

The Lions will remain in Allen Park for training camp

The NFL will not allow teams to travel away from home facilities for training camp in 2020

The Detroit Lions will not be heading to West Virginia or any other location to hold training camp in 2020. Per reports from several ESPN team reporters and Adam Schefter, the NFL has told all NFL teams they must hold training camp at their own facilities this summer.

There had been some speculation that the Lions could look to hold their camp at The Greenbrier in West Virginia, where the New Orleans Saints and Houston Texans have recently held their camps. That was due to the state of Michigan’s strict stay-at-home orders, which have since been eased.

Staying at the team facility is not an issue for the Lions. Everything is centered at the team headquarters in Allen Park, including team offices, training and medical facilities and practice fields. It’s a bigger problem for teams like the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers, who travel away from their home cities for camp every year.

There is no immediate word on if joint practice sessions will be permitted. The dates and ability for fans to attend the practices have yet to be determined.

Could the Lions hold training camp in West Virginia?

If holding training camp in Allen Park is unfeasible due to the coronavirus response, The Greenbrier in West Virginia makes a lot of sense

The Detroit Lions remain on virtual operations status, with everyone working remotely during the early offseason activities. Due to the current state of coronavirus pandemic response in Michigan and other places, that unusual status could be forced to continue well into the summer.

Could the restrictions in Michigan force the Lions organization to uproot training camp and host it in a location with looser restrictions on interpersonal contact and business?

There are unconfirmed reports that the Lions could be seeking to move training camp in 2020. The place that makes the most sense is The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia.

The Greenbrier has hosted NFL training camps for the New Orleans Saints and Houston Texans in prior years, most recently in 2018. The famed resort has also hosted The Spring League, an upstart developmental football league. Situated in the isolated mountains of southeast West Virginia, it’s an ideal location for a controlled-access camp. There are four NFL football fields including an indoor facility, as well as full training and rehab stations.

It has not come to the point of needing to find an alternate place to hold training camp yet for the Lions. But if the team is forced away from its Allen Park headquarters, the Greenbrier makes perfect sense.

Lions targeting players who can contribute with minimal offseason training

With an abbreviated offseason training program on the horizon, the Detroit Lions are targeting players who can contribute within conditions.

With an abbreviated offseason training program on the horizon, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Detroit Lions have made a few minor adjustments to their approach to acquiring talent.

Knowing that there will be no Spring camps and likely a shortened training camp in late summer — if it happens at all — general manager Bob Quinn said during his pre-draft press conference with the Detroit media, that the Lions are targeting players who can contribute immediately without needing much of an offseason training program.

This concept was applied in free agency when the Lions traded with the New England Patriots for Duron Harmon and continued when they signed linebacker Jamie Collins and nose tackle Danny Shelton in free agency.

Because of their time spent with the Patriots, all three players have extensive experience playing in the Lions scheme and are familiar with the important terminology needed in order to contribute without much formal guidance.

This concept will also likely carry over to the 2020 NFL Draft and it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see the Lions invest in prospects whom they coached at the Senior Bowl, as those players have also been exposed to some of the basic concepts in the Lions scheme.

[lawrence-related id=37606,37435,37369]

This could also influence decision-making when the Lions are debating between talent in the draft, potentially leaning towards players with a higher floor, or that operated in a college scheme close to the Lions. Prospects who played defense at Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Arkansas — among others — could have an advantage over smaller school talent.

While targeting players who can contribute early will likely play a factor in decision-making, it’s important to acknowledge it’s only part of the overall process. When asked about a player dealing with an injury, Quinn made sure to note that he is looking for the best player available, both now and/or in the future.

One group of players that are surely going to be impacted is the undrafted free agent pool as they will have less time to impress coaches and learn the system.

The Lions currently have 78 players on their active roster and nine draft picks leaving them with only three available spots for additional players.

Therefore, when determining the importance of adding an undrafted free agent, Quinn will have to weigh their value versus a player on the active roster because after the three empty spots are filled, he will have to cut a veteran in order to make room.

By the end of the draft, the Lions will have several young players added to their 90-man roster, and with the fourth most draft capital to work with, there will be a lot of new talent — even if that means fewer players than in a typical year.