Ravens rookies report for coronavirus testing
Ravens rookies were scheduled to report Tuesday, but not for the start of training camp.
Under the testing protocol that the NFL and the NFL Players Association agreed to Monday, rookies will be screened for the coronavirus this week. All players must test negative twice for COVID-19 before they can be admitted to their team’s facilities.
Ravens rookies were expected to undergo their first round of testing Tuesday, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. Quarterbacks and injured players are due to report Thursday, and all other players on next Tuesday.
The timetable for physicals and workouts remains unclear, as does the league’s preseason schedule. The NFL reportedly offered Monday to eliminate all preseason games, but the NFLPA had not yet accepted the offer.
All 32 teams’ Infectious Disease Emergency Response plans have reportedly been approved by Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, but the players’ union must approve the plans before more than 20 players can be allowed at team facilities.
Because of social-distancing guidelines, only rehabilitating Ravens players have
been allowed to work out at the team’s Under Armour Performance Center amid the pandemic this offseason. General manager Eric DeCosta, like other front-office officials, also has yet to finalize the Ravens’ rookie class. Eight draft picks have signed so far, and first-round inside linebacker Patrick Queen and third-round wide receiver Devin Duvernay are expected to be under contract soon.
At training camps this year, which will be held without fans, players will be tested every day for the first two weeks, Sills said in a conference call Monday.
If a player tests positive but is asymptomatic, he can return to the facility 10 days after the initial positive test or if he receives two consecutive negative tests within five days of the initial positive test. If a player has a positive test and is symptomatic, he can return no sooner than 10 days after the symptoms first appeared and 72 hours after the symptoms stopped.