COVID-19 & NFL training camp: New York Jets rookies will get coronavirus test on Friday
Training camp is getting underway this week, albeit slower than the New York Jets even anticipated. The Jets canceled COVID-19 tests for its rookies on Tuesday but will administer the tests on Friday with the hope that players can get on the field very soon.
Monday the NFL and NFLPA agreed to a testing program where every player must test negative twice before he can come into the facility. Tuesday, NFL rookies around the league were tested. The Jets wanted a better understanding of the protocols and in the interest of keeping everyone safe, chose to delay the tests.
This delay shouldn’t have a lasting effect on training camp. The Jets veterans are on schedule to get tested on Tuesday, July 28. That’s when COVID-19 testing and standard physicians can commence.
The negotiations between the league and the players are continuing. Players are asking for a longer acclimation period to the new normal in camp before putting on pads and actually begin hitting people. Last week, the league and players agreed to cancel all four scheduled pre-season games.
The Jets are hopeful they can get on the field and start to see how some of the new players fit in with their schemes on both sides of the ball.
The offensive line could have five new starters unless Brian Winters returns at right guard. That includes first-round draft pick Mekhi Becton who has yet to experience an NFL practice, let alone something resembling a game. Second-round pick wide receiver Denzel Mims is also without any NFL practice, and he is expected to be a major contributor right away.
“It’s going to be a challenge,” offensive line coach Frank Pollack told reporters last month. “It’s the same challenge everyone’s got, though, around the league. We’re on an equal footing from that regard. If we have to do stuff from an extra standpoint whether it’s before practice, after practice, whether it’s walk-throughs, meetings, that’s what we’re going to have to do.”
Technically, teams that have high turnover rates will have a tougher acclimation process than teams that are returning most of their players. The Jets first two scheduled opponents of the regular season, the Buffalo Bills, and San Francisco 49ers, have more of their core returning than the Jets do.
Training camp can begin after players are tested and undergo physicals. When exactly they get on the practice field is still up in the air.
