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Derrick Henry was seen jogging in the field with his daughter after practice. The Green Bay Packers are renting kids' bikes again for practice. Fans are rubbing elbows with their favorite players for coveted autographs.
Yes. The NFL is looking and acting basically back to normal as it enters its third season in dealing with COVID-19.
Testing trailers and tents are gone, and masks are scarce. In fact, a protocol devised and coordinated by the league and the NFL Players Association in 2020 and 2021 was halted last March.
The NFL appears to be following the CDC's lead. The CDC last week lifted social distancing and quarantine requirements, with an estimated 95% of Americans age 16 and older gaining some immunity from vaccinations and infectious diseases.
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"I think we are always concerned about everyone's safety, our safety, our family's health," said Tennessee Titans manager Mike Vrabel, two and a half years after the pandemic. Added what happened.
The biggest change was most easily noticed at NFL training camps, with fans returning and staying close enough to high-five and shake hands with players.
Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry is in the NFL Stretching during football training camp in Nashville, Tenn., July 27, 2022. The NFL is basically back to normal for its third season dealing with COVID-19.(AP Photo /Mark Humphrey, File)
Players are delighted to have their fans back in full force.
"Wow" Aaron Jones said the Packers. "The fans are everything. They are what makes football run. I would say that this is one of the greatest traditions of football. Riding a bike. Ever since I came in, I've had the same little bike rider, I had to bring my own bike.My son practices with me, so it's special to me.”
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The Packers are one of the teams that fans will be able to see in action at training camp in 2021. We weren't allowed to interact with the players, but they were far away.
Cheers are welcome after the past two years of relative silence. The only sounds were the thump of pads, the yelling of coaches, and the music from the speakers to simulate the noise of the fans. Players' families, coaches and team staff were also unable to attend and steal a few minutes working with children and spouses. Perfect age to enjoy racing to the end zone with dad after early practice. The two-time NFL rushing champion said it's the kind of moment her daughter will get to see when she's older.
"Having these moments is always precious, especially for kids." But it takes a lot of time, even if it's just being in football or a training camp," Henry said.
Teammates must stay six feet apart, and coaches must wear masks on the field, whether the team is indoors or outdoors, at practices or games. Since 2020, when you had to wear a mask, vaccination has relaxed the protocol. Titans center Ben Jones said it meant friends were sitting apart for breakfast and lunch, making it difficult to build team chemistry and camaraderie. 68} "It became a lot of a challenge for me trying to spread five guys on the same page," recalled Ben Jones. "That's not what you want. As a team guy, as a leader, you want as many people as possible to be close and able to influence them."
Society The distance markers are gone. The same goes for essential tests, saving you time each morning waiting for positive or negative results.
Never in the last two seasonsNFL regular season gameshas been canceled due to the pandemic, but many games have been moved during 2020 and the entire preseason has been discontinued. About 95% of players and nearly 100% of team personnel had been vaccinated, according to the league.
The Titans experienced their first outbreak of his 2020 season, and during the 2021 preseason, Vrabel tested positive at the start of another outbreak for the team.
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Green Bay Packers tight end Josiah Deguara, third from right, rides a young fan's bike as a fan wearing Deguara's helmet during the team's NFL football training camp in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on July 27, 2022. start running. (Samantha Madar/The Post-Crescent via AP, File)
Other professional leagues are also adjusting their protocols:
— Major League Baseballhas suspended routine COVID-19 testing for all but those with symptoms before the start of the 2022 season.
— The NHL and the NHL Players Association released an updated protocol Tuesday afternoon that encourages vaccinations and booster shots to be "strongly" encouraged, and that testing is only done if symptoms are present. did. Just like the NBA and MLB, unvaccinated individuals cannot cross the US-Canada border. An unvaccinated player risks suspension and no pay for lacking "team activity," but there are only a few players in that category and assistant coaches in the NHL.
— The NBA has yet to reveal its full policy for next season. Commissioner Adam Silver said last month that he hoped for continued moves toward normalization, saying: "Over the past two and a half years, we've learned not to make predictions when it comes to COVID, but what can we do? I'm just saying I'm ready if it happens."