LA Rams News: NFL thaw of operations hard freeze continues

LA Rams News: NFL continues to thaw freeze on all football operations

The NFL is beginning to thaw the hard freezes of all football operations due to the Stay-at-Home and Social Distancing directives in place for all 50 states. While some states have begun to allow some NFL team employees to return to work subject to state and local authority, not all have yet done so.  Even in those areas permitting a return to work, the NFL continues to impose restrictions that no more than 50 percent of a team’s staff can return to the office at one time.

Now, more NFL imposed restrictions are lifting. NFL teams can begin to reopen ticket offices, retail shops, and other customer-facing facilities as of this past Monday, June 1, 2020.  Of course, this remains subject to local, municipal, and state authority to do so.   Any employee who occupies a role in these areas of a team’s operations will continue to count towards the 50 percent cap of all employees, not to exceed the total of 75 total persons in the facility at any one time.

Virtual training a virtual reality

Even as the thaw continues, neither players nor coaches are yet authorized to use facilities, with the exception of injured players currently in rehabilitation and whose strength and conditioning coaches are active members of those rehabilitation programs.

While football is far from “back” at any team, and even further removed from those sites still wrestling with the proper time to relax social restrictions, progress towards a return of football continues to progress.  In the meantime, the NFL did extend the period for virtual training by two weeks, allowing that training to continue.

Coaches and Players will return to facilities soon

While many restrictions remain in place, the California Governor has agreed to allow professional sports teams to resume practices with no fans present.

While the state has given the green light, the LA Rams have not announced any formal plans as of yet. On the team’s website, the message reads: “More information on the Los Angeles Rams 2020 Training Camp will be announced at a later date.”  Keep in mind that this year, the LA Rams and the LA Chargers were scheduled to jointly host Hard Knocks this year.

We have a long road to walk to an NFL season this year. But the NFL and with it, the LA Rams are continuing to inch closer and closer towards that goal.