Report: NFL to hold training camps only in team facilities

Yet another thing bite the dust to the coronavirus this week.

On Tuesday, ESPN reported the NFL's plan to keep all 32 teams in their regular practice facilities for training camp. ESPN Staff Writer David Newton wrote that the league, with the NFL Players Association, elected this plan in order "to limit travel" and lower "the risk associated with maintaining two facilities."

For the Atlanta Falcons, it will be business as usual, as the team already holds its training camp at the same facility in which it practices. Only nine NFL teams will be affected by this plan, but it will end some very long traditions such as the Pittsburgh Steelers holding their training camp in Latrobe. The Steelers have been training in Latrobe every summer for just about as long as the Falcons have been a franchise (1966).

The Panthers will not hold training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, for the first time in team history dating back to 1995. A source told WSPA TV In Spartanburg the NFL soon will make an announcement that teams must remain at... https://t.co/KfiTRxt8vS
— David Newton (@DNewtonespn) June 2, 2020

While this decision doesn't directly impact the Falcons, it still could in the long run, as it's another indication that maybe the 2020 NFL season won't be immune to the coronavirus. While coaches and players are engaged in their virtual workouts for minicamp, they are still not permitted into team facilities. And even with rampant speculation, other sports leagues around the country have yet to announce their return dates as well.

Losing traditional training camp locations may end up just being another typical NFL perk lost for a single season, but for now, it casts more doubt on when the NFL can actually make its return to normalcy.

As of Tuesday night, more than 108,000 people have died in the United States from COVID-19. To stop the spread of the coronavirus, follow the CDC guidelines.

Despite businesses opening up in Georgia and around the country, Holcomb also encourages Falcons to stay at home whenever possible.