Thanks to progress being made in coronavirus pandemic, NFL coaches will be able to return to work Friday.
According to several Thursday reports, the NFL has sent a memo to all teams informing them that coaching staffs may return to team facilities as of Friday.
The memo reportedly states that members of NFL coaching staffs will count toward the maximum number of team employees who may be present at the facility. As of Friday, the maximum increases to 100 employees, subject to appropriate regulations.
“Coaches and other football staff, particularly those who may be in a higher risk category or who have concerns about their own health conditions, are expected to speak with the club medical staff or personal physician about any special precautions or other accommodations that may be appropriate for their particular circumstances,” the memo explains. “In addition, we will work with club medical staffs to implement a program of COVID-19 testing for the coaching staff and other football personnel prior to players returning to club facilities.”
While this is certainly a move back to normalcy for the NFL, the league is still will continue on with the virtual offseason programs. Additionally, teams are not still not expected to get to a point this Summer where they can hold mandatory minicamps prior to their training camps getting underway in July.
Earlier this week, NFL teams were instructed that their annual training camps should take place at their usual practice facilities and not at remote locations. That ruling means that the Steelers will not be conducting their 2020 training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, where they have done so for the last 54 years. The Steelers hope to be able to resume their annual training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe in 2021, per a statement released by team president Art Rooney II this wweek.
