The NFL is still sorting through the health and safety protocols that will be implemented for when players are allowed to return to work, and the structure the league is planning to use has caused some frustration among teams.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter obtained a copy of a memo that was sent to all 32 teams mandating organizations be divided into “tiers” upon players and staff returning to facilities. The tiers will determine where players and personnel can go and what they can do at the facility. The idea is to only have essential personnel in certain areas like practice fields, locker rooms and training rooms.
Sources told Schefter that teams have had some heated internal discussions over who ends up in which tier. Teams must have all employees placed into either Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3 and turn the lists into the NFL no later than seven days before the first mandatory reporting date for players. That date has yet to be announced, but the majority of teams are scheduled to begin training camp on July 28.
You can read a further breakdown of the tiers here.
The NFL has been determined to proceed with its normal offseason schedule, but one head coach recently said the league is setting “impossible” standards with its new protocols.
