Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay tried to clarify on how the NFC West club will handle social distancing while playing professional football.
Despite the NFL's social-distancing guidelines, the 34-year-old upstart Rams coach said the team will “play football,” implying that one way or another it will be impossible to avoid making contact and not break guidelines in a COVID-19 world (via Sports Business Journal‘s Ben Fischer on Twitter):
An animated @RamsNFL Coach Sean McVay: "We're gonna social distance, but we play football? It's really hard for me to understand all this. I don't get it. I really don't."
— Ben Fischer (@BenFischerSBJ) June 18, 2020
McVay, entering his fourth season with the Rams in 2020, will have the additional challenge of navigating a difficult offseason beset by the coronavirus, something that has already canceled team practices, minicamps and voluntary offseason workouts for NFL franchises seeking to get reps in with players and new faces.
McVay led the Rams to an NFC Championship following the 2018 season, his second with the franchise, losing in Super Bowl LIII to the New England Patriots. Los Angeles also saw a major departure in the offseason, with the release of Pro Bowl star running back Todd Gurley, who was subsequently picked up by the Atlanta Falcons.
With franchise quarterback Jared Goff the star of the show now, McVay will need time to install his pass-first offense, along with reshaping the defense now that defensive coordinator Wade Phillips is gone, too.
The NFL may have been the least-affected professional or amateur league hit by COVID-19, but that doesn't mean there won't be implications and side effects from the global pandemic. The league is still grappling with safety precautions for players, coaches and fans heading into the 2020 season in the fall, and that may come with violating its own social distancing guideline in order to play the contact sport.
Follow Us
Subscribe