49ers' Pre-Draft Operations Unaffected by Coronavirus

Scouts of the 49ers do not travel this time of year, so they are taking precautionary steps by default.

The San Francisco 49ers' pre-draft operations are currently unaffected by COVID-10. A club official revealed that the coaches do not go on the road to scout this time of year.

So there isn't any major traveling from the 49ers to worry about. They are still sending scouts to some draft prospect's pro day, but they all drive to those events and only if they are in the same region. There isn't any exposure to a mass amount of people for them.

This is how the 49ers have conducted their pre-draft operations every offseason, so they are essentially taking precautions by default. 

The team has also been closely monitoring government recommendations and are educating employees on the best health practices. 

However, they may have to start upping the restrictions with so many franchises and leagues in the sports world shutting down due to the coronavirus. 

The NFL's annual meeting scheduled for March 29-April 1 was cancelled Thursday by commissioner Roger Goodell in wake of the virus. The same goes for the NBA, NCAA tournament, MLB and MLS. 

New: pic.twitter.com/Jme2W77RYy

— Brian McCarthy (@NFLprguy) March 12, 2020

The World Health Organization declared on Wednesday that the novel coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.

With the annual meeting already cancelled, the next step for the NFL could be to the postpone free agency. Players may not want to travel far distances and be exposed to so many people as they attempt to finalize or negotiate a deal. 

The same can be said about the 20202 NFL draft, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday, April 23, through Saturday, April 25, in Las Vegas. 

The #Jaguars and #Bills have taken their coaches and scouts off the road, while the #Falcons shut down their offices to intensely clean the facility. The plan is for ATL to reopen on Monday.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 12, 2020

Teams around the league have already started to shutdown travel for their scouts and coaching staff. It is only a matter a time before every other offseason event gets put on hold with the coronavirus pandemic.