Training camps around the National Football League are expected to officially kick-off at the end of the month but the NFL and the NFL Players’ Association have yet to agree on the exact protocols to ensure the openings happen safely.
Those very important decisions could be coming as soon as late next week, according to Mike Jones of USA TODAY Sports.
“The talks continue with the goal of hammering out the most important factors somewhere between July 8 and 10, according to people familiar with the discussions, who spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter,” Jones writes. “That timeline would give players time to make travel plans to return to the cities of their employment before the start of camp on July 28.”
The biggest uncertainties NFL players, coaches, team employees and league and union officials have about this season. https://t.co/iIqgHZxrlq
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) July 1, 2020
But with positive cases of COVID-19 rising across most states in the nation, figuring out the logistics of safely bringing together players, coaches and staff could prove to be a daunting task.
Still, the NFL is pushing ahead, with some decisions expected in the near future.
“The NFLPA and NFL are in the same exact place, where we want whatever makes for the safest possible environments for all our constituents, whether they be players, coaches, trainers, medical staff — anyone in that team environment,” NFL’s chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, said via conference call with the owners last week. “We’re going to work very hard together to educate everyone about the steps that we feel collectively are the most effective in reducing risks for everyone.”
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