League taking baby steps toward reopenings
The NFL is taking baby steps toward full reopenings for its teams. It has no other choice.
No long throws downfield. Mostly halfback dives into the line.
There are so many issues that must be addressed with the opening of team facilities across the nation. Just because a handful of clubs returned executives and other staff — no coaches or players — to their complexes on Tuesday does not foreshadow a quick return to business as usual. Or close to it.
For one thing — a very major thing — there’s competitive balance to consider.
“Competitive issues are always important and they always are considered in a way to try to preserve equitable treatment of all 32 clubs,” said Jeff Pash, the NFL’s chief legal counsel. “And certainly, our goal will be to have all 32 clubs operating on a consistent basis.”
Here are some of the challenges the teams face at a time when organized team activities (OTAs), followed by June on-field minicamps, would have been taking place.
GOVERNMENT RESTRICTIONS
At least a dozen franchises had no chance to begin the reopening process this week because state or local municipalities barred it.
All four California teams — the Raiders still count because their current training facility is in Alameda — and both New Jersey clubs fall in that category.
“We are not opening up,” Ravens President Dick Cass said Tuesday. “In Maryland, we are deemed to be a nonessential business. Under local and state regulations, we remain closed and we will remain closed until the governor permits us to open up. Right now, it would be great to have our players back. But I don’t see that happening anytime soon.” TESTING As Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, noted during a conference call following the team owners’ virtual meeting Tuesday: “We’re not putting dates on the calendar at this point” concerning getting coaches and players into team complexes.
“We feel there are certain important steps that need to occur with regard to testing, with regard to test availability, with regard to test reliability, and our continued evolution of understanding about how to manage exposure,” he added. “All of those things continue to evolve, and when we and the players association together feel like we’re at a point of satisfaction with that science, then we’ll be ready to move forward.
“We’re moving as fast as the science and the data takes us.”
Cass was willing to put a time frame on it — somewhat.
“We believe by the time of training camp (late July), we’ll be able to test players and coaches multiple times a week, and be able to get the results fairly quickly,” he said. “I think there’s a really good shot that we’ll be OK.”