Jaguars Veterans Report for Initial COVID-19 Testing

The Jacksonville Jaguars veterans are the final wave of players to report before training camp.

The Jacksonville Jaguars veteran players reported to the facilities Tuesday for initial COVID-19 testing ahead of training camp. Teams league-wide welcomed back their veterans for testing on Tuesday per the NFL training camp schedule. 

Jaguar rookies returned last Tuesday and quarterbacks joined on Thursday. There are no football activities planned for veterans today. The first day for each subset's return is strictly for COVID testing. 

Veterans, like the rookies and quarterbacks, will need to garner multiple negative test results ahead of admittance to training camp. Players are tested three times over the first four days. On Day 5 and 6, daily testing will begin. If a player tested negative on each of the first three test (from Day One, Two and Four) then they will be admitted to the facilities for physicals and fittings. 

As veterans across the league report to training camp, here’s a look at the first six days. pic.twitter.com/NSvGnCm75F

— Brian McCarthy (@NFLprguy) July 28, 2020

Football activities are set to begin next Monday, August 3, with conditioning and walk-throughs. 

On Monday, the Jaguars placed four rookies on the new reserve/COVID-19 list: undrafted rookie cornerback Luq Barcoo, rookie draft pick defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton, rookie draft pick cornerback Josiah Scott and undrafted rookie offensive lineman Tre'Vour Wallace-Simms. 

A player being placed on the reserve/COVID list doesn't necessarily mean they have tested positive for the coronavirus. The list is for anyone who has tested positive or come into contact with someone who tested positive and therefore must quarantine. 

"Minimum period on Reserve/COVID-19 is commensurate with the applicable mandatory testing and/or quarantine time required by the NFL/NFLPA Testing and/or Treatment Protocols to clear that player," the Jaguars said Monday.

While coaches, agents and club personnel are not allowed to comment on a players positive test and subsequent addition to the reserve/COVID list, players can address their own positive. Corner Josiah Scott did just that on Monday afternoon, tweeting his initial test was a false positive and that each test following has returned a negative result. 

A team's response to a positive COVID test amongst players, coaches and staff are outlined in each club's IDER (Infectious Disease Emergency Response). The Jags such plan was officially approved on Monday by the NFLPA. 

The IDER's are contingency plans each franchise has for infectious diseases, but all have required updating to include a COVID-19 response. They can differ from franchise to franchise depending on state and local guidelines and mandates.

Last Friday, the NFL, NFLPA Executive Committee and NFLPA Player Reps all voted to approve changes to the Collective Bargaining Agreement that outlines financial ramifications pursuant to the CBA while accounting for expected loss of revenue due to the global pandemic. With the vote, training camp effectively was approved to move forward as scheduled. 

Read more on the details of the approved changes here. 

"The NFL clubs and the NFL Players Association approved an agreement that broadly resolves all outstanding issues relating to the opening of training camps and start of the 2020 season. Training camps will begin as scheduled," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement Friday.

"We have worked collaboratively to develop a comprehensive set of protocols designed to minimize risk for fans, players, and club and league personnel. These plans have been guided by the medical directors of the NFL and the NFLPA and have been reviewed and endorsed by independent medical and public health experts, including the CDC, and many state and local public health officials. The season will undoubtedly present new and additional challenges, but we are committed to playing a safe and complete 2020 season, culminating with the Super Bowl."

Now that veterans are undergoing initial COVID-19 testing as well in line with the NFL's schedule, teams—including the Jaguars—are on track to begin football activities within a week. Conditioning and walk-throughs will begin on the aforementioned August 3. Practices—albeit with no pads—will begin the following week and full padded workouts are tentatively scheduled to start in mid-August.