Chiefs, other NFL teams given new league protocols for players’ return to facilities
Chiefs coach Andy Reid and special teams coordinator Dave Toub were among the NFL coaches who returned to their respective teams’ training facilities late last week.
Now, the NFL is attempting to pave the way for players to return, too.
League commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday sent all 32 teams a memorandum of protocols that must be in place in order for players to return to their teams’ training facilities, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported. Breer posted the memorandum and a nine page document outlining the requisite steps on Twitter.
While there is currently no specified date for the players to return as the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic continues around the world, Goodell’s memorandum identifies numerous categories and establishes standards the will help guide the league’s teams.
The protocols address facility access, physical distancing, facility disinfecting, equipment disinfecting, personal protective equipment, hygiene and compliance with protocols, among other areas. NFL teams are required to identify personnel who need facilities access and place them in four tiers: Restricted, Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3.
Restricted areas include practice and stadium fields; locker rooms; athletic training rooms; medical examinations rooms; players’ eating areas, such as cafeterias; weight rooms; meetings rooms; and player lounging areas.
Tier 1 includes players and necessary personnel requiring direct access to them, such as coaches, athletic trainers, team doctors, head strength and conditioning coaches and head equipment managers.
Tier 2 includes non-playing staff members in close contact with players, such as ownership, club facility staff, general managers, security personnel, additional equipment managers and athletic trainers, club communications staff and public relations staff. Teams are required to create a separate entrance for people identified as Tier 1 and Tier 2 personnel.
Tier 3 is defined as personnel performing essential facility, stadium or event services not requiring close contact with Tier 1 individuals. The last tier includes a team’s in-house media and broadcast personnel, field maintenance providers and others who provide essential services.
The memorandum states that players and staff members must wear protective masks at all times in the facility, the exception being if a mask interferes with the performance of athletic activities. Masks must be replaced daily.
Protocols mandate player workouts of no more than 15 at a time, and meetings to either be held outdoors or virtually. Any meeting with 20 or more personnel must be done virtually unless physical social-distancing rules can be adhered to.
Teams like the Chiefs are responsible for reconfiguring their locker rooms to meet the league’s guidance of six feet of spacing between each locker. In a normal year, the Chiefs would bring in extra lockers to the main locker room to accommodate their 90-player offseason roster.
The league last week directed all teams to hold training camps at their respective training facilities, meaning the Chiefs will not be at St. Joseph in late July for camp.
Ultimately, the league appears to understand that whatever guidance is put forth now remains fluid and is subject to change.
“While these protocols have been carefully developed and are based on the most current information from leading experts, no set of protocols can eliminate the risk or contracting COVID-19, nor ensure that the disease itself will be mild,” Goodell said in the memorandum. “And we should expect that these protocols will change as medical and scientific knowledge of the disease continues to grow.
“But we believe, along with the NFLPA, that these protocols offer a sound basis for bringing back players back into the facilities and moving forward with our planning for the 2020 season.”
Currently, only players receiving medical treatment as part of their rehabilitation process are allowed in a team’s training facility.
