Seattle Seahawks: 2020 training camp about to open (sort of)
A Sunday night deal between the NFL and NFLPA opens the door for Seattle Seahawks training camp to start.
We have another sign that the sports apocalypse might not happen. The National Football League and its Players Association reached an agreement that will allow the Seattle Seahawks and the other 31 teams to open training camps. Well, sort of, it’s complicated.
The Seattle Seahawks and other teams won’t go full steam ahead just yet. Under the agreement, training camps will be a phased-in process.
The process
Players will start reporting to the team’s training facility in Renton, WA immediately for an intake period. Upon arrival, they take a COVID-19 test. If negative, they take another test. When two consecutive tests come back negative, on Day 5, players may enter the building for weights and conditioning.
Those workouts will last until Day 14. At that point, no pad practices can begin, players will be allowed to wear helmets and shells. This phase will last another five days (or so). From there, Pete Carroll can begin the last part of training camp on August 17. There will be a maximum of 14 full pad workouts with one mandatory off day every seven days.
Per the agreement, there will be no preseason games. Additionally, players who opt out of the season for health reasons will receive a flat $350K stipend. Those who opt-out for other reasons receive 150,000.
After the great news from Saturday in which the Seattle Seahawks traded for All-Pro safety Jamal Adams from New York, this is another event for the feel-good column. Training camp represents a continued return to normalcy in the face of an insidious enemy.
If there is a drawback to this plan, it’s the loss of preseason games. No one likes them, but they serve a purpose. Expect teams to look rusty for the first week or two of the regular season. For now, the takeaway is that the Seattle Seahawks opening game, September 13, in Atlanta, is on. 48 days to go!
After weeks of negotiations, the NFL and its players have agreed to extensive health measures for the 2020 season just as training camps are set to begin. But the outlook for college football remains uncertain. @stephgosk has the latest. pic.twitter.com/53WPv3wYx6
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) July 27, 2020
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