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Kansas City Chiefs rookies are set to report to training camp today.
We know that at least one of the rookies has already touched down in Kansas City for the first time. We can expect that the others, including undrafted free agents, were soon to follow.
Training camp this year is set to take place at The University of Kansas Health System Training Complex. That’ll be a change from recent years, when it has taken place at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Missouri.
Things are still evolving as NFL teams grapple with the harsh reality of playing football during the COVID-19 pandemic. The NFL and NFLPA are still working toward an agreement on finalizing health and safety measures, preseason games and financials ahead of the 2020 season. For now, the Chiefs have done what they can according to the CBA and the NFL’s current guidelines.
First, they submitted their Infectious Disease Emergency Response plan and according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, it was one of just three plans to be approved by both an independent expert and the league thus far. That means that the Chiefs are officially cleared to have more than 20 players in the building at a given time. That was the first step toward making a training camp happen.
So what will the upcoming schedule for training camp look like? It’ll certainly be different than what players are used to, with the first two days being comprised solely of COVID-19 testing.
“The first day is literally just a COVID-19 test. They take the test, they go home,” Pelissero said on Good Morning Football. “They come back to the building on Tuesday, take another COVID-19 test. If they get two negatives (tests) in a row, only then can they move on to other things, be in the building, take their physical and move into team activities.”
Following testing, as Pelissero alluded, comes physicals and eventually team activities. According to Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star, physicals begin on Wednesday.
Testing today. The Chiefs rookies will take their physicals Wednesday, I’m told. https://t.co/rnf7sFJd9D
— Sam McDowell (@SamMcDowell11) July 20, 2020
From my understanding, rookies will also be fitted for their equipment starting on Wednesday.
So to recap, here is what the schedule as we know it looks like thus far.
- Monday, July 20: COVID-19 testing Day 1.
- Tuesday, July 21: COVID-19 testing Day 2.
- Wednesday, July 22: Physicals / Equipment Fitting.
- Thursday, July 23: ???
- Saturday, July 25: Veteran report day for Chiefs/Texans only.
One thing to keep in mind moving forward is that the players want more ramp-up time than they’ve been promised thus far. The NFLPA wants an expert-recommended 21 days of strength and conditioning, 10 days of non-padded practices, and 14 days of padded practices. That could significantly alter the schedule and preseason in the future.
We’ll learn more about what lies ahead for the Chiefs’ rookies in the coming days. Perhaps the NFL and NFLPA will have a plan officially agreed upon by the time these players actually hit the field for the first time.
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