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Baltimore Coach John Harbaugh says the Ravens will do all they can to follow a lengthy set of protocols when teams return, but considers the scope of requirements ‘humanly impossible.’ Don Wright/Associated Press

 

Earlier this week, the NFL sent teams the protocols they must follow in order for players to return to team facilities during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Many of the new rules aren’t all that different from the ones many people have been following for the past few months: Everyone must wear masks indoors; players and team personnel will be screened to determine whether they’ve had or are having symptoms; locker rooms will be set up to keep players six feet apart; meetings with more than 20 participants must be conducted virtually unless physical distancing can be adhered to, and in-person meetings should be held outdoors.

But what works for the general public might be a bit of an issue for professional football teams, at least according to Baltimore Coach John Harbaughc

“I’ve seen all the memos on that, and to be quite honest with you, it’s impossible what they’re asking us to do. Humanly impossible,” Harbaugh said Thursday in an interview with 105.7 The Fan in Baltimore. “So we’re going to do everything we can do. We’re going to space, we’re going to have masks. But, you know, it’s a communication sport. We have to be able to communicate with each other in person. We have to practice.”

Harbaugh’s main questions seem to revolve around how teams are supposed to huddle up, how locker rooms are supposed to work now that the players are being kept apart, how teams are supposed to conduct meetings and how players are supposed to work out. All of it, really.

“I’m pretty sure the huddle is not going to be six-feet spaced,” Harbaugh said. “Are guys going to shower one at a time all day? Are guys going to lift weights one at a time all day? These are things the league and the (players’ association) needs to get a handle on and needs to get agreed with some common sense so we can operate in a 13-hour day in training camp that they’re giving us and get our work done. That’s the one thing, you can tell by my voice, I’m a little frustrated with what I’m hearing there. And I think they need to get that pinned down a little better.”

The NFL and the players’ union still have a number of important details to hammer out when it comes to its handling of the pandemic: Will players have to quarantine before coming to training camp; the nature and frequency of the coronavirus tests they receive; and what happens if a player tests positive. In Harbaugh’s mind, the league needs to revisit everything to make such rules practical for the teams.

“I think good people, smart people are involved in this,” Harbaugh said. “But the way I’m reading these memos right now, you throw your hands up and you go: ‘What the heck? There’s no way this can be right.’ “


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