Giants pulling scouts, personnel off the road amid coronavirus fears

The New York Giants had resisted altering their offseason travel plans amid fears over the coronavirus, but acknowledged in a Thursday morning statement that it was a “fluid situation.”

“This is a fluid situation for all of us. At this point, we have not altered any of our plans. We have been and continue to follow the CDC guidelines designed to limit the spread of the virus,” the Giants said in a statement on Thursday morning.

A mere two hours later, the organization decided it was prudent to pull all scouts and personnel off the road.

The #Giants are among the teams pulling coaches off the road for workouts and Pro Days, and several other teams are expected to do the same. Teams will be briefed by the league office in a conference call later today for guidance on how to proceed.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 12, 2020

The Giants had representatives, including offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, at five different Pro Days on Wednesday and were prepared to attend six more on Thursday. That, of course, will not happen now.

Additionally, multiple teams are considering the possibility of closing their facilities entirely, which could force the NFL to push back or reschedule the start to the 2020 league year (March 18).

Multiple NFL teams are discussing shutting down their training facilities due to the Coronavirus, league sources tell ESPN.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 12, 2020

Meanwhile, NFL agents are publicly advising their players (prospects and veterans) to cease any and all pre-draft and free agent visits.

As an agent, it's my strong recommendation that my players don't travel for any team visits. With 12 or more games played, an All-Star game and Combine for most, teams have enough information to make an informed draft decision.

— Mike McCartney (@MikeMcCartney7) March 12, 2020

We could be headed for a complete NFL shutdown.