Report: Seahawks and NFL teams told to report to training camp on time
Jul 18, 2020, 1:18 PM
The Seahawks are set to begin full training camp on July 28. (Getty)
(Getty)
According to multiple reports, the NFL will begin training camps as scheduled next week for all 32 teams, including the Seahawks.
Clayton: Hawks and NFL have unanswered questions ahead of camp
Per an Associated Press story by NFL writer Rob Maddi, NFL executive Troy Vincent sent a memo to every NFL head coach and general manager on Saturday informing them that rookies are to report to camps on Tuesday, July 21. All other players, according to the memo, should arrive to camps no later than July 28, while quarterbacks and injured players can report on the 23rd. The only exception is for the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs, whose rookies can report one day earlier, on July 20, since they are set to play in the first game of the year on Thursday, Sept. 10. The Seahawks open in Atlanta against the Falcons on Sunday, Sept. 13.
For the Seahawks, the plan was for the team to start full training camp on the 28th. With rookies set to enter the facility on Tuesday, it will be the first time since March that Seahawks players will be the Virginia Mason Athletic Center since March.
It will definitely be a different-looking training camp for the Seahawks and the rest of the league, as fans won’t be in attendance to watch, and, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, only 20 players will be allowed at facilities at one given time, at least for the time being until the NLF Players Association agrees to infectious disease emergency response plans for all 32 teams. Pelissero also added that if protocols aren’t met, there’s the potential for grievances filed by the players.
As of now, only 20 players would be allowed in the facility at a time, until the NFLPA signs off on infectious disease emergency response plans for each club. If protocols aren't met, a grievance could follow. But clubs have the right to set reporting dates within CBA rules.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 18, 2020
Players still have concerns, as voiced by stars like San Fransisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman and Houston Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt regarding testing and safety protocols.
In the interest of having everyone on the same page in terms of what we know and don’t know at this time, here are a few things I’ve learned being on four NFLPA calls in the last two weeks with hundreds of other players.
Keep in mind our rookies are scheduled to report in 48 hrs pic.twitter.com/wAH1XyQenf
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) July 16, 2020
Those have yet to be hammered out according to multiple reports, but even with those elements of training camp up in the air, the league is able to impose report dates under the current collective bargaining agreement.
Along with questions about testing is questions about the preseason. Multiple reports surfaced recently that the league was cutting two of the four preseason games for each team, and the players reportedly want none while owners and the league want at least one preseason contest per team.
Weeks 1 and 4 of the preseason are reportedly being scrapped, which means for the Seahawks, they’d play the Housto Texans on Aug. 22 and the Los Angeles Chargers on Aug. 27 with time off before the Sept. 13 season opener in Atlanta.
The NFL has yet to officially announce cuts to preseason games, and all four of the scheduled contests are still up on the Seahawks’ official website.
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