NFL CAMPS ON DESPITE ISSUES
NFL Players Association’s DeMaurice Smith said he’s concerned about rising COVID-19 cases in South Florida and other hot spots, but that doctors from those markets believe it’s safe to open training camp.
The NFL notified its 32 teams Saturday that the training camp report date for rookies remains Tuesday, but the Dolphins’ rookies won’t report until Thursday because of COVID-19 testing concerns.
NFL players union officials have expressed concern about opening training camps in markets that have become hot spots for COVID-19, such as South Florida, but team doctors from those handful of markets told them in recent days that they believe it’s safe to do so.
The union has not asked for training camps in those hot spots — primarily South Florida, Houston, Phoenix and Los Angeles — to be relocated, and there’s no indication that the league is planning to do so.
Meanwhile, the NFL is moving ahead with a training schedule despite not having an agreement with the players union on several issues. The NFL informed teams Saturday that rookies, quarterbacks and injured players should report to their respective training camps this week — and that includes clubs like the Dolphins operating in coronavirus hot spots.
The memo — sent by Troy Vincent, the league’s executive vice president of football operations — stipulated that, under the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, all teams but the Chiefs and Texans (who have an earlier start) can compel rookies to report Tuesday and quarterbacks and injured players on Thursday. The remaining players will report on July 28.
The Dolphins informed their rookies that they should report on Thursday, instead of Tuesday, because the team needs to get its COVID-19 testing in order.
“A couple of weeks ago, we started to raise concerns about spikes in a number of jurisdictions, including yours [South Florida],” said executive