Chiefs, other NFL teams officially get green light to begin training camps next week
After a period of uncertainty, NFL training camps are back on track to start next week.
The players union’s representatives overwhelmingly approved proposed changes to the Collective Bargaining Agreement Friday that open the door for all teams, including the Chiefs, to begin training camp. Among the changes per the newly revised agreement, there will be no preseason games this year.
“Our NFLPA Board of Representatives voted to adopt, by a count of 29-3, the proposed amendments to the 2020 Collective Bargaining Agreement to protect our players’ health, safety and financial well-being,” the NFL Players Association said in a statement.
The announcement came hours after the NFLPA’s executive committee recommended to the player representatives that they should approve the proposal.
Earlier in the day, the NFL’s owners, including Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt, voted to approve the adjustments. They focus on health and safety precautions as camps begin amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The NFL clubs and the NFL Players Association approved an agreement that broadly resolves all outstanding issues relating to the opening of training camps and start of the 2020 season,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a league statement. “Training camps will begin as scheduled.
“We have worked collaboratively to develop a comprehensive set of protocols designed to minimize risk for fans, players, and club and league personnel,” Goodell’s statement continued. “These plans have been guided by the medical directors of the NFL and the NFLPA and have been reviewed and endorsed by independent medical and public health experts, including the CDC, and many state and local public health officials. The season will undoubtedly present new and additional challenges, but we are committed to playing a safe and complete 2020 season, culminating with the Super Bowl.”
The two sides came together on numerous fronts, including cap-related issues, player safety in the form of testing, opt-outs, the expansion of practice squads to 16 players and the surrender of preseason games because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to multiple reports, Friday’s agreement will keep the 2020 cap at $198.2 million and the league will spread potential financial losses during the pandemic across four years, starting in 2021. The cap for 2021 is estimated at $175 million.
Chiefs players won’t hit the ground running when they report to camp, though, like they have in the past.
According to multiple reports, players will undergo an acclimation period, which includes coronavirus testing, virtual meetings and eight days of strength and conditioning. The Chiefs’ padded practices — 14 in all — won’t begin until Aug. 14, which is four weeks before their scheduled season opener against the Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium on Sept. 10.
Alterations to the training schedule make sense considering the absence of organized team activities (OTAs) and a mandatory minicamp this year. With all teams’ offseason workout programs conducted virtually because of the ongoing pandemic, players were left on their own to stay in shape.
The changes to camp really started when the Chiefs announced, per league mandate, that they would hold their annual season-prep sessions at their Kansas City training facility instead of at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, and that those practices would not be open to the public.
Typically, NFL teams play four preseason games — the Chiefs’ first preseason matchup had been scheduled for Aug. 15. This year, instead of preparing for and playing weekly exhibitions, teams will use coming weeks to get players in shape and prepare for the regular season.
The Chiefs’ rookies and quarterbacks reported in KC earlier in the week and have already undergone COVID-19 testing. Veterans are scheduled to report Saturday.
