We now have a firm date for when at least one NFL team will report to training camp amid the ongoing pandemic.
The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs have told rookies and quarterbacks to report to camp on Monday for COVID-19 testing.
This seemingly comes out of left field after all the rhetoric we’ve heard from players over the past week-plus. As noted in the report, teams have the right to tell players to report under the new collective bargaining agreement. But it’s not as simple as that.
Several NFL players push back against league over lack of COVID-19 protocols
The usually reserved J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans sent out a social media post earlier on Thursday pointing to all of the issue surrounding the start of training camp.
In said post, Watt openly questioned how testing protocols would look during the ramp up period. He’s also concerned about the lack of true protocols relating to COVID-19 and whether preseason games will even be played next month.
Watt’s comments pretty much mirror what we’ve heard from other big-name players around the NFL. Simply put, players have not received the guidance they need to report to camp amid a growing pandemic in the United States.
2020 NFL season still a go?
Kansas City is slated to host the Houston Texans to open the regular season on Sept. 10. That’s less than two months from now.
Health experts around the United States have openly questioned whether the NFL can even think about playing this fall if it’s not in a bubble like the NHL and NBA. Growing concerns over the nature of COVID-19 domestically has also played a role in this.
For now, newly-extended quarterback Patrick Mahomes is slated to lead his team to training camp in Missouri in just a few days.