NFL wants to make mouth shields mandatory, Mixon deletes tweet about not wearing one
CINCINNATI — The NFL and the NFL Players Association continue to discuss safety protocols and other plans for the 2020 season with training camp scheduled to start in less than two weeks.
The Oakley Mouth Shield is one of the many topics the two sides are discussing. It's a plastic addition to the helmet that is designed to prevent the transmission of droplets that could carry COVID-19.
"This remains an open issue between the NFL and the NFLPA about whether or not players will have to wear that face shield in order to play during the 2020 season," NFL Network analyst Tom Pelissero said on Tuesday. "The NFL, I'm told, continues to push for the wearing of these shields to be mandatory as a health and safety measure. The NFLPA wants it to be an option for players, but not mandatory."
Bengals running back Joe Mixon was one of the first players to comment publicly on the mouth shield.
"Y’all might as well have a pump of sanitizers coming out of our uniforms too while y’all at it," he tweeted earlier this week. "I won’t wear it."
Mixon, 23, has deleted the tweet, but there are plenty of players that feel the same way. Playing pro football is hard enough. Doing it with a covering over your face would make it much more difficult.
If the face shields are required, it'll make players safer from COVID-19, but it could also make it much harder for them to breathe.
At the very least, every player on an NFL roster should try to practice with the mouth shield to see if it's a realistic request from the league. Any precaution that helps prevent the spread of COVID-19 helps the NFL's chances of having a full season in 2020.
Not many players have tried the face shield due to the virtual offseason. Bengals training camp is scheduled to start on July 28.
