The San Francisco 49ers’ 2020 season could get a little trickier Monday at 12:01am when Santa Clara County’s new COVID-19 restrictions go into place.
For three weeks beginning Monday, professional and college sports that involve direct contact will not be allowed to practice or play within the county limits. There’s no indication the 49ers will be given an exemption.
The team is exploring alternative sites for practices and games according to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner.
Possible locations include RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland, and Oracle Park in San Francisco, although there’s no certainty on whether those cities or counties would allow a football team to practice and play there.
The 49ers have two home games in that three week span, including Week 13 against Buffalo on Dec. 7, and Week 14 against Washington Dec. 13. They finish the month of December with two road games in Dallas and Arizona before finishing up Jan. 3 at home vs. Seattle.
Their game in Dallas comes the day before restrictions are set to be lifted at 5:00am Monday, Dec. 21 per Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Santa Clara County also imposed a two-week mandatory quarantine for travelers entering from more than 150 miles away. The 49ers on Sunday are in Los Angeles to face the Rams, but they likely won’t be subject to the two-week quarantine as long as they’re back in Santa Clara before the 12:01am deadline Monday.
This is a developing story, and we’ll provide more details as they become available.
