NFL announces training camps can begin on July 28th

The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened throughout much of the United States, but the NFL still intends to have training camps start on time.

League officials made the announcement on Monday that teams can report for training camp on July 28th, and rookies and select players can report sooner.

While Washington and New York were the original epicenters of the coronavirus outbreak in the US, the biggest spike in cases and/or the biggest spikes in positive test rates are now in California, Texas, Florida, and Arizona. From an NFL-centric perspective, just over 25% of the league’s teams are based in those four states. Arizona, which has seen recent daily positive rates skyrocket to north of 20%, has rolled back its reopening of its economy by closing bars, gyms, etc. and forbidding mass gatherings of at least 50 people.

You may recall that Arizona was one of the states that was quite aggressive with not just reopening, but welcoming back sports events as early as May. As far as how the new orders affect sports, Governor Doug Ducey doesn’t think anything has changed on that front.

From a Seahawks perspective, King County is in Phase 2 of Governor Jay Inslee’s four-phase reopening plan. but personnel are allowed to return to VMAC under modified guidelines. The team has not made any announcement on any dates for training camp — obviously fans will be allowed to attend in-person this year.