NFL players have been demanding for more answers as it relates to COVID-19 protocols heading into the 2020 season.
They are now getting them from the league. I am not sure this is going to make players feel much better with Week 1 less than two months away.
NFL travel rules for teams are strict for the 2020 season
- No use of public or private transportation in other cities.
- No leaving the hotel to go to restaurants open to the public.
- No room visits by anyone outside of the traveling party.
- No use of shared hotel facilities such as pools and gyms.
- Masks required while traveling.
- Buses at no more than 50% capacity.
- At least one open seat between passengers on plane.
This all sounds great in the grand scheme of things. But we’re talking about enforcing this on nearly 2,000 players and hundreds of coaches. That doesn’t even take into account other personnel.
It’s going to be incredibly difficult to police this policy and will ultimately be left up to the teams.
NFL players want more answers as it relates to COVID-19 testing
The backdrop here is a lack of answers from the league and NFLPA as it relates to testing protocols. Houston Texans star J.J. Watt has spoken out on it recently, as have other star players.
All of these policies for traveling parties will end up being mute if there’s not a strong testing program in place. We saw initial issues with Major League Baseball as that sport looks to start its season next week. The good news is that things seem to be getting better in that regard.
However way we spin it, the NFL needs to ramp up its protocols ahead of the start of training camp. The Kansas City Chiefs will be among the first teams to report for testing this coming Monday.