Back in March, when the coronavirus pandemic began, Roger Goodell informed teams to shutdown their team facilities. On Friday, the NFL sent a memo that permits teams to re-open their facilities on May 19, but there will be exceptions for specific instances.
At the beginning of the memo, it clearly indicates that teams must get clearance from their local and state governments. If a team receives the go-ahead to re-open their facilities, they must be approved by Dr. Sills — the NFL’s Chief Medical Officer.
If a team’s facility isn’t approved, then they will still have a chance to re-open on a future date. Though, the most crucial aspect of the memo is that each team must be given the go-ahead by their government before returning.
In addition, the memo states that coaches are not permitted to return to facilities. While coaches aren’t allowed to return, members of the football operations can be chosen to return to the facilities by their respective teams.
Similar to coaches, players are unable to return to team facilities yet when they begin to re-open on May 19. However, if a player is undergoing treatment from an injury, the NFL will allow them to use the facilities.
Over the course of the offseason, NFL teams have been conducting virtual offseason programs in place of the normal offseason activities. While everyone isn’t able to return, the re-opening of team facilities is a big step forward for the NFL. Once each team gets permission to return, then we could begin seeing players and coaches allowed in the facilities.
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