Today the NFL sent a memo to teams outlining things they must do for a safe return to training.

Albert Breer shared the entire damn thing on Twitter, but it’s multiple pages long, so I’ll just write out some bullet points here:

  • They’ll break up staff into various tiers for purposes of access. Tier 1 includes players, coaches, trainers, etc. Tier 2 will be facility staff, front office members, equipment people, strength and conditioning coaches, etc. Tier 3 is operational folks, team media, security personnel, etc.
  • Daily screening and testing for players who enter locker room, practice field, and other areas.
  • Six feet distance between lockers, which can’t be done at Novacare. It’s a long and narrow locker room that’s already filled to capacity and I don’t know how they would make that work.
  • Six feet distance inside training facility with rearrangement of furniture and whatever else might inhibit that.
  • Virtual meetings where possible.
  • You have to wear a mask unless you’re doing an performance-related activity, like lifting.
  • No more than 15 players at strength and conditioning sessions.
  • Equipment disinfected after each practice.
  • Teams need to come up with their own “Infectious Disease Emergency Response” plan.

It all seems rather straightforward and congruent with what other leagues have done. The only issue is the amount of space in the locker room, so they might have to figure out a way to set up an overflow area somewhere else.

Here’s an image of the room down at Novacare, for reference:

(via Pinterest with no credit given, if this is your photo let me know so I can update)