Skip to content

Coronavirus: NFL orders all team facilities to close on Monday and Tuesday

The Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Rams, Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals saw a rise in COVID-19-related issues on Friday, according to NFL.com.; the Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers game has been pushed back to Tuesday night after an outbreak at the Ravens

The NFL season gets underway on Thursday night as the Chiefs take on the Texans
Image: The NFL is wary of players celebrating Thanksgiving with 'out-of-town guests'

The NFL is closing all team facilities for in-person activities on Monday and Tuesday as it takes drastic steps to try to halt the impact of COVID-19 on its already battered schedule.

The facility lockout, reported by NFL.com and ESPN, does not apply to teams scheduled to play on either Monday or Tuesday, and the Sunday slate is also unaffected.

Citing a spike in COVID-19 cases across the nation, and the possibility of an influx of exposure resulting from the holiday weekend, the NFL is trying to stop more issues from arising. Both NFL.com and ESPN reported that the NFL is taking the step "understanding that a number of players and staff celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday with out-of-town guests" as a reason for the closure.

The Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Rams, Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals were among the teams that saw a rise in COVID-19-related issues on Friday, according to NFL.com.

The NFL Players Association also told players to let teams know if they had guests in for the holiday for the purpose of additional testing when facilities re-open.

All team activities will be conducted in a virtual environment on Monday and Tuesday except for medical treatment and rehab.

Also See:

COVID-19 issues forced the Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers game, originally set for Thanksgiving but pushed back to Sunday, to be rescheduled another time. The teams are now due to meet Tuesday.

Around Sky