Rookies for the Chiefs and Texans have been instructed to report for COVID-19 testing Monday. Veterans from those teams are scheduled to report to training camp July 25. Rookies for the NFL's other 30 teams also are slated to report next week, with most veterans scheduled for July 28.
What players, organizations and fans are wondering is if starting the season can be done safely in hopes of beginning training camp on time and ensuring the regular season kicks off as scheduled.
NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith was given an answer Thursday night during an "emergency meeting" with team doctors, and he shared it Friday with reporters on a video conference call that also featured NFLPA president JC Tretter, starting center for the Browns.
"The doctors last night on the call said, you know, with a couple of reservations, that they felt it was safe to open training camp," Smith said. "They provided their medical reasons. Some of the things we agreed with. Some of the things we may not agree to, but overall, they gave their medical opinion that it was safe to open training camp, and that's where we are."
Before other issues -- and there are several -- between the sides are addressed, the NFLPA wants player safety handled in a manner it finds acceptable.
So before moving on to the projected loss of revenue because of the COVID-19 pandemic and what it might mean for future salary caps, the number of preseason games and whether the coronavirus should be designated as a "non-football injury," the union wants protocols at team facilities and testing frequency established.
Time is running out, and union leaders Smith and Tretter made certain to address their concerns during the call.
"Our position is we have players, as we have spoken to our membership, who are nervous about flying from a relative safe location directly into a hot spot with their families, with their kids, with their wives," Tretter said. "And that's a major concern, you know, with stuff going on. Houston as well as Miami, how safe is that? ... Our job is to hold the NFL accountable and to have them answer those questions. Those are the questions we want answered. How safe is it to start back up a football season at this moment with locations in this country where teams are located, going through giant spikes of this virus? That's something that has to be looked at as we make any decision. The health and safety aspect has to be taken care of for the players, first and foremost."
Also Friday, the NFL conducted a meeting of ownership and released a statement.
"We will continue to implement the health and safety protocols developed jointly with the NFLPA, based on the advice of leading medical experts, including review by the CDC," the statement read. "We will address additional issues in a cooperative way. All decision will be made in an effort to put us in position to play a full regular season and postseason culminating with the Super Bowl, which is the shared goal of the clubs and the players."
Uniformity, as Texans star defensive J.J. Watt posted to Twitter, is being sought by the players.
In the interest of having everyone on the same page in terms of what we know and don’t know at this time, here are a few things I’ve learned being on four NFLPA calls in the last two weeks with hundreds of other players.
Keep in mind our rookies are scheduled to report in 48 hrs pic.twitter.com/wAH1XyQenf
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) July 16, 2020
To showcase the concern players have as training camps and possible preseason games approach, Rams offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth joined the call.
Whitworth said a family member went to lunch with a friend and, a couple of days later, his family was traveling when the family member experienced symptoms and was tested for COVID-19. The test was positive, and within days, Whitworth, his wife his children and his wife's parents had contracted coronavirus.
"Obviously, on people of an older age, it seems to be much tougher and it definitely was on them," Whitworth said. "Unfortunately, her dad got to a state where had had to be hospitalized. … It was definitely a scary thing and I realize how contagious this really is, and it doesn't take much, and it can spread like wildfire. For us, it's affected us personally, so it was scary, but, you know, our family, our kids, we ended up OK."
Smith said the union will review a response from teams that it received Thursday night to ensure they are in compliance with protocols discussed with the league. Areas such as South Florida and Houston, which are COVID-19 hotspots, are of particular concern, and the union wants teams to put safeguards in place to keep those high-infection areas from impacting players.
It would be a significant step in addressing safety concerns with the league.
"Our job as the union is to hold the league accountable to making and providing as safe a workplace as possible," Smith said.
Tretter said coaches, staffs and players all share responsibility in keeping everyone safe, including decisions made away from team facilities. Tretter and Smith added some coaches do not believe the safety protocols will work and are not taking the health issues as seriously as the players.
Speaking of work, if no agreement can be reached before players are scheduled to report, there's not much the union can do.
"The CBA dictates when players report, and the Collective Bargaining Agreement dictates what players need to do to be in compliance with their contract, and we have never minced words with our players about that," Smith said. "We always tell players what their obligations are contractually and under the collective bargaining agreement."
The CBA also obligates the union to negotiate in good faith about downturns in revenue, which the NFL most certainly will experience with limited or no fans in attendance. If the CBA operates as normal, it means next year's salary cap could possibly be as low as $120 million according to Smith and players across the league would be cut because of it.
But those issues could correct themselves if protocols are put in place, the union leaders said.
"The priority still is on the health and safety issues that we face, and the economics will be taken care of," Tretter said. "But we can't get into the economics until we make sure our players are going to be protected this year, and the health and safety protocols are set up."
The union wants daily testing and does not plan on changing its position.
It also wants 21 days of strength and conditioning to help players get back into shape because gym access was limited or not permitted for some during the coronavirus shutdown, a slow ramp up (10 days) of non-padded practices and a contact acclimation phase of 14 days to help limit injuries. The NFL, meanwhile, wants teams to play two preseason games.
"We're in a different world now," Tretter said. "The idea that this is just going to go away in the snap of a finger and you don't have to change because of that, it's wrong. You're going to have to change this year. … So when you look at how training camp runs, how practices are run, it all needs revamped and refitted to fit in this world of coronavirus because the expectation that you're going to be able to fit coronavirus into football, it's not the right expectation."
To continue reading, log into your account:
