NFLPA Met with Team Doctors in COVID-19 'Hot Spots' to Plan Safe Training Camps

NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith and President J.C. Tretter announced Friday that the NFLPA is taking steps to protect its players during the coronavirus pandemic. 

According to ESPN's Dan Graziano, Smith and Tretter said during a media conference call that they consulted with team doctors for clubs that are located in COVID-19 "hot spot" areas.

Smith and Tretter noted that players are concerned about flying to Miami, Houston and other areas that have been heavily impacted by COVID-19 in recent weeks, per The Athletic's Lindsay Jones.

NFLPA general counsel Tom DePaso conducted a Zoom call with NFL agents Wednesday and noted that the NFLPA is "very concerned" for players who have to partake in training camp in "hot spots" such as California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee and Georgia, per NJ.com's Zack Rosenblatt.

Players are still currently scheduled to report to training camps at the end of July, but it is possible that delays could occur if the NFLPA isn't satisfied with the safety of players who play in cities with spikes in coronavirus cases.

DePaso also made it clear that the NFLPA wants to cancel all preseason games, and he explained the rationale behind that desire:

"No clear reasoning for having them. A dry run for a regular season game is really not good enough for putting a player at greater risk. The players understand they are at higher risk and they want to mitigate it as much as they can. They understand they can't eliminate it but they feel it's not worth it for those [preseason games] ... the most important part of the season are the regular-season games and playoff games."

Teams are already well behind where they would normally be at this point in the offseason in terms of preparation since in-person OTAs were canceled.

While teams met regularly on Zoom calls and through other virtual platforms, they weren't able to get onto the field collectively and get a feel for the playbook or their new teammates.

Many teams saw players organize workouts in an effort to create some level of synergy, but it wasn't the same as OTAs since it was informal and coaches weren't involved.

Any delay in the start of training camp could put the start of the 2020 regular season in jeopardy, especially if there are no preseason games to aid in preparation.

As things currently stand, the regular season is scheduled to begin Sept. 10 with the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Houston Texans, while the first Sunday slate of the season will occur Sept. 13.