Latest On NFL, COVID-19

Although the NFL has approved coaches to return to team facilities (where local regulations allow), more than half of the league’s staffs were still working from home as of last Friday, according to Barry Wilner of the Associated Press. Many teams appear to be taking a cautious approach as COVID-19 lingers, and it’s possible that a number of clubs won’t come back to team sites until training camp begins. Indeed, that’s the attitude the Saints are taking, and other teams may follow suit.

Here’s more on the impact of COVID on the NFL:

• The cancellation of Week 1 of the preseason is on the table, as Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com reports. In such a scenario, NFL teams would still report to training camp at their usual times, but the first week of the exhibition campaign would simply be canceled. The idea, per Breer, would be to limit soft tissue injuries as players ramp back into shape. Additionally, removing one week of the preseason would also reduce travel obligations and thus limit potential exposure to COVID.
• Other COVID-related scenarios could also be at play, as Breer writes in a separate piece. One idea that’s been floated is delaying the start of the regular season until October. That would obviously be a large step, but Breer says some teams are in favor of such a move. Meanwhile, the NFL’s joint committee on health and safety has recommended a multi-week, pre-training camp acclimation period for players in order to allow them to get back into shape.
• New Jersey dropped its stay-at-home order today, and the state’s governor recently said he’s not ruling out the idea of playing NFL games with fans in the stands. “I think it’s too early to tell,” Governor Phil Murphy said on WFAN (link via Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post). “I think it’s a great aspiration. And outdoors is better than indoors with this virus. There’s no question about that. A ball game outside? Potentially.” Both the Giants and Jets, of course, play their home games in New Jersey.
• Although the virtual component to this offseason will technically end when players are permitted to return to team facilities, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones notes that Monday’s NFL memo encourages teams to continue conducting player meetings in a virtual capacity. With meetings taking place constantly at team facilities, this would be a major change. And if teams insist on having players at meetings in-person, the league would prefer these sessions are conducted outside and with players in masks. These backdrops would make for unusual film sessions.

Sam Robinson contributed to this post.