Giants Taking Added Precautions Ahead of Trip to Washington

With COVID-19 cases surging across the U.S. and NFL landscape, Giants head coach Joe Judge revealed some of the added precautions the team is taking to keep their players, coaches, and staff protected from the virus ahead of their train trip to Washington this weekend.

COVID-19 cases have begun to spike around the country, and the NFL has been no exception in terms of seeing the number of cases within their locker rooms start to spike as well. 

This week, the Bears, Chiefs, Texans, Colts, Dolphins, Falcons, and Bengals all had the virus filtrate their respective facilities, necessitating a change in plans.

The Giants? They're still waiting for the all-clear status for left guard Will Hernandez, who is eligible to come off the COVID-19 list Saturday if he can produce multiple negative tests.  

Speaking of the Giants, who travel to the Washington, DC area this weekend ahead of their game Sunday against the Washington Football, head coach Joe Judge shared some details on the steps being taken by the team to ensure that they remain shielded from the COVID-19 virus. 

The Giants will be traveling by train this week as opposed to typical air travel. As an added precaution, the train the Giants are using will get deep-cleaned and sanitized by the Giants staff ahead of the trip. 

When the Giants board the chartered Amtrak train, they will be socially distanced and divided so that no one position unit is sitting in the same general area. 

This strategy is meant to serve as a contingency plan in case there is an outbreak on one bus, as the Giants will still have players from every position group available safe and available for the game. 

Additionally, Judge said the Giants would also be closing off several seats on the trains and busses to ensure that players are spaced out and adhering to proper social distancing protocols. 

Other than for Hernandez, whom Judge said will have to undergo more steps once he's cleared to return to the building to ensure he's ready to return to the rigors of an NFL practice, and receiver David Sills and now former linebacker Josiah Tauefa, the Giants haven't been hit as hard regarding losing players to the virus as some other clubs around the league have.