As other professional sports leagues planned to tiptoe ahead with quarantined lockdowns, the NFL went boldly and cleverly ahead with a virtual draft so innovative and well received that even strident critics reluctantly applauded it.
The basement of commissioner Roger Goodell’s New York home served as the nerve center for the April event, projecting a sense of calm and confidence as if the world briefly had tilted back onto its axis.
Goodell’s increasingly casual attire over the three days reflected that — from sports coat to sweater to quarter-zip to T-shirt — until he finally plopped into his favorite leather recliner and ate fistfuls of M&Ms. Everything was going to be OK.
The NFL feels very different now. As the country faces a dangerous surge in coronavirus cases, the league is being challenged to duplicate that April success — to keep moving forward, to be innovative and to project that determined assuredness.
“We have said many times this is not going to be easy,” Goodell said. “We all know the virus is in all our communities, and cases are at their highest in months. COVID will continue to pose a major challenge for the NFL as it does for everyone.”
The league is dealing with the fallout from an outbreak that ripped through the Baltimore Ravens, a sham of a game in Denver, where the Broncos played without a quarterback — all four were on the COVID list — and the uprooting of the San Francisco 49ers, who temporarily have relocated to Arizona because of a coronavirus crackdown in Santa Clara County.
Baltimore was supposed to play at Pittsburgh on Thanksgiving night, but the game was rescheduled three times before the teams finally played last Wednesday afternoon. The Ravens had 10 consecutive days of positive tests and at least a dozen players were diagnosed with coronavirus, among them reigning most valuable player Lamar Jackson. Several cases were traced to the team’s strength and conditioning coach, who broke from protocol by not reporting his symptoms and not wearing a mask. He was subsequently suspended by the team.
“Our protocols aren’t failing,” said Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer. “Our compliance is an area where we can continue to improve. Any protocol is only as good as the compliance that you have, and as I’ve said before, 90% is a failing grade here. We have to have 100% compliance because the virus only needs a small opening to get in.”
With four weeks remaining in the season, plus the playoffs and Super Bowl, the NFL is like an underwater swimmer trying to get the most out of that last gulp of air and reaching to touch the wall.
“I absolutely think the NFL is going to finish the season,” said Dr. Zach Binney, an epidemiologist at Oxford College of Emory University. “Whether the wheels come off is an open question.”
Three weeks into November, the NFL ramped up its restrictions at all 32 team facilities and entered a period of “intensive protocol,” which mandates that meetings be held virtually, outside or in a practice bubble, with participants safely distanced.
Banned under the heightened restrictions are in-person contacts among team members outside of the facility, except for travel or games. Cafeterias are grab-and-go only, the use of locker rooms is strongly discouraged, with reduced numbers of people allowed in certain places and increased use of personal protective equipment such as masks and face shields.
“Around our facility, we have a compliance report every week of who’s wearing masks and who’s not,” Rams tackle Andrew Whitworth said. “We actually are tracking how often you’re wearing it, if you’re wearing it properly, and all that. It’s kind of a challenge to us to do it right.”
When teams are in intensive protocol, the NFL has had a 60% reduction in close contacts. Throughout the league, players are responding to positive peer pressure.
“Nobody wants to be the guy who goes out and does something and then spreads it to a bunch of teammates,” Minnesota Vikings guard Dakota Dozier said. “It’s not good for you and your health, obviously, but it’s going to hurt your teammates and hurt your team’s performance. There is that kind of, ‘Hey, I expect you to be responsible, because I’m going to do the same for you.’ “
