GM Bob Quinn Discusses New Safety Protocols at Practice Facility
After one of the most unique offseasons in NFL history, players finally returned to the Detroit Lions' Allen Park practice facility on Tuesday.
But, instead of routine football drills and team meetings to review schedules, schemes and plays, members of the team were required to undergo COVID-19 testing on Day 1 in order to be cleared to enter the facility this weekend.
The Lions also released a video Tuesday documenting some of the changes that have already been made to ensure player safety.
The indoor practice facility now will hold team meetings, as 90 chairs have been set up six feet apart.
Plexiglass barriers have been installed, the training room has been expanded into the main hallway and an outdoor tent has been installed to allow for social distancing while eating.
General manager Bob Quinn met with Detroit media early Wednesday morning to further explain the team's new safety protocols ahead of practices beginning in mid-August.
"Our No. 1 priority is the safety of everybody," Quinn said.
Several measures have been put in place since March with the aim to keep players and coaches safe:
- A state-of-the-art air filtration system was installed
- 10 full-building deep cleans took place
- An application is being used for staff and players to order food
- Coolers without handles were installed
Quinn acknowledged that the biggest challenge involved dining, but that there is comfort with the tents installed and utilizing an application for players to order food.
"I would say the dining operations is like one of our biggest challenges. The dining thing had to be really revamped at a high level," Quinn expressed.
In regards to what will occur if a player tests positive, Quinn expressed that practice and games present the most concern presently.
The league will decide who must quarantine based on tracing protocols.
"There's a protocol in place, and I think it goes back to the contact tracing. So, if someone takes a test positive, they go back to the contact-tracing data, and they see how long those people have been near each other. And then, it's really decided for us. It's going to give you very real data, and it's not going to be club by club deciding who might have to sit out or who has to quarantine. It's going to be very black and white. It's going to be in the data," Quinn said.
Tentatively, practices are set to start Aug. 12, and padded practices are likely to begin Aug. 17.
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