NFL Lacks Return to Play Strategy, Concerning Players

The GIST: NFL training camps start in just over one week, and players are not happy about the NFL’s health and safety plan, or rather, lack thereof.

What’s the plan?: The NFL has decided that all 32 teams will begin training camps next Tuesday, July 28th, as was originally scheduled earlier this year (aka pre-pandemic). Teams can ask rookies to report as early as tomorrow, while quarterbacks (QBs) and injured players will have the chance to report Thursday.

• The issue, however, is that the league hasn’t come up with a clear COVID-19 strategy for training camps and the regular season. This lack of plan is especially poignant considering 72 NFL players tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
  

• There are currently some regulations in place, like only a maximum of 20 players are allowed in a team’s facilities at once, but the NFL says it still has a lot to discuss with the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) before it can release a full plan.

What are the players saying?: They’re not happy. The always outspoken (in a good way) Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt is leading the charge of players calling out the league for their lack of action. Last week, Watt made it clear that, above all, players want to play, but they also want to be safe. Fair.

• He also highlighted the unknowns they’re facing, saying they’ve yet to receive an official plan from the NFL, NFLPA or any team. The league has yet to announce how testing will be administered and managed or how a positive test could affect the players and the season. Alarming.

• To make matters worse, players still don’t know if the preseason — scheduled to start August 13th — will actually take place, and they have no clue what training camps will look like. And this haphazard return-to-play plan comes against the advice of the NFL’s and NFLPA’s own medical experts.

What other players spoke up?: Since Watt’s tweet, many fellow players have been voicing their concerns using the hashtag #WeWantToPlay. Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson, whose wife, Ciara, is pregnant, tweeted, “We want to play football but we also want to protect our loved ones.”

• New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees, Super Bowl MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes and San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman, amongst many, many others, have also publicly voiced their worries and are asking the league for a safe return-to-work plan.

What now?: The league has just days to figure out a plan. If they don’t, we anticipate a lot of no-shows at next week’s training camps. It really begs the question: what exactly has the NFL been doing for the past four months, if not prepping for football in the time of COVID-19?