Atlanta Falcons Ramp Up Covid-19 Testing Ahead of Crucial NFL-NFLPA Meeting

The Atlanta Falcons began testing their employees Monday morning to begin a week the team hopes will start to bring the players back to the practice facility.

The Falcons started drive-thru COVID-19 testing for its staff Monday according to ESPN's Vaughn McClure. Based on his report, players will have to test negative for coronavirus twice in order to be allowed into the facility.

Falcons already started drive-thru COVID-19 testing for the staff this morning. Players will have to have two negative tests before coming back into the facility. Rookies supposed to be back Tuesday, vets on July 28. Specifics still being negotiated, including 21-day acclimation
— vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) July 20, 2020

This began hours before the league and owners are expected to hold a meeting to finalize the NFL's health and safety measures to fight the virus. The meeting is also supposed to produce answers to financial arrangements and the number of preseason games according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

NFL and owners now will be conducting a league meeting at noon ET today as they try to finalize health and safety measures, financial arrangements, and reducing or eliminating preseason games, per league sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 20, 2020

Rookies are supposed to report to training camp on Tuesday with quarterbacks and injured players expected Thursday. All other veterans are scheduled to report to training camp, which will be held at team facilities this year, on July 28.

But the players are still searching for answers prior to the start of training camp. Many of the league's stars on the field took to Twitter over the weekend to voice their frustrations over the lack of answers on how the league is going to handle the virus this season. One of the biggest issues currently is how to designate players who test positive to COVID-19. The league has proposed teams will be allowed to place players who test positive for coronavirus on the non-football related injury list, which would enable the teams not to pay them.

Obviously, that's a huge issue with the players. To a lesser extent, so is the number of preseason games this August and the 2021 salary cap. The league will take another stab at satisfying the players on these topics Monday.

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