newYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Derrick Henry was seen jogging on the field with his daughter after practice.The Green Bay Packers are renting kids’ bikes again for practice. Fans are rubbing elbows with their favorite players for coveted autographs.
Yes, the NFL is essentially looking and acting back to normal for its third season in dealing with COVID-19.
No more trailers or tents for testing, masks are rare. In fact, the protocol devised and coordinated by the league and the NFL Players Association in 2020 and 2021 was suspended last March.
The NFL appears to be following CDC precedent, lifting social distancing and quarantine requirements last week, with an estimated 95% of Americans 16 and older gaining some immunity from vaccinations and infectious diseases.
Aaron Rodgers laments Packers training camp failure: ‘It’s ruining a simple play’
The league continues to want anyone with possible symptoms to speak up and wear a mask after being in contact with someone with COVID-19. must be isolated by
“I think we’re always concerned about everyone’s safety, our safety, and the health of our families,” said Tennessee Titans manager Mike Vrabel, 2.5 years after the pandemic. Added.
The biggest changes are most easily noticed at training camps across the NFL. Fans are back and staying close enough to high-five and shake hands with players.
Players are happy to see their fans back in full force, and appreciate the energy boost during the monotonous routines and long days of camp.
“It’s huge,” said the Packers, who runs Aaron Jones. Ever since I came in, we’ve had the same little bike riders and had to bring their own bikes, and my son also practices with me, so it’s special for me.”
Jets’ Zach Wilson undergoes successful knee surgery: report
The Packers were one of the teams that allowed fans to watch their 2021 training camp practice from a distance, but were not allowed to interact with the players.
Cheers are welcome after the relative quiet of the past two years. The only sounds were the rattling of pads, the yelling of coaches, and the occasional music playing through the speakers to simulate fan noise. Players’ families, coaches, and team staff were also unable to attend, stealing a few minutes at work with their children and spouses.
Henry’s daughter Valentina, now 2, is the perfect age to enjoy racing with her father to the end zone after an early practice session at camp. The two-time NFL rushing champion is the kind of moment her daughter will see when she’s older, she said.
“Having these moments is always precious, especially for kids, but just being in football and training camp takes a lot of time.” I always value something that I can look back on and laugh at and enjoy.”
Immunizations eased protocol from 2020, when teammates had to stay six feet apart and coaches wore masks on the field at both practices and games, regardless of whether the team was indoors or out. ‘s Ben Jones said it means friends sit apart for breakfast and lunch, making it difficult to build team chemistry and camaraderie.
“It became a lot of a challenge for a guy trying to spread five guys on the same page,” Ben Jones recalled. , as a leader, I want as many people as possible to be close to me so that I can influence them.”
No more social distancing signs. The same goes for mandatory tests, saving you time waiting for positive or negative results each morning.
In the past two seasons, no NFL regular-season games have been canceled due to the pandemic, but many games have been moved during 2020 and entire preseasons have been scrapped. Approximately 95% and nearly 100% of team personnel had been vaccinated.
The Titans experienced their first outbreak of the 2020 season, and Vravelle tested positive during the 2021 preseason at the start of another outbreak for the team.
Giants’ Brian Davol has ‘total confidence’ in Daniel Jones, but Tyrod Taylor could be preseason First Team rep
Other professional leagues are also adjusting their protocols.
— Major League Baseball has suspended routine COVID-19 testing for all but symptomatic individuals prior to the start of the 2022 season.
The NHL and the NHL Players Association released updated protocols on Tuesday afternoon that encourage vaccinations and booster shots to be “strongly” encouraged and to only test if you have symptoms. Just like the NBA and MLB, unvaccinated individuals cannot cross the US-Canada border. An unvaccinated player risks suspension and no pay for lacking “team activity,” but there are only a few players in that category and assistant coaches in the NHL.
— The NBA has not revealed its full policy for next season. Commissioner Adam Silver said last month that he hoped for continued moves toward normalization, saying: “Over the past two and a half years, we’ve learned not to make predictions when it comes to COVID, but what can we do? I’m just saying that I’m ready if it happens.