Believe it or not, but the start of training camp is only two months away. And unlike last year during the pandemic, fans will be able to attend.
The NFL told teams on Tuesday that there will be a unified start to training camp on July 27, with 29 of the 32 clubs reporting on that date. The Cowboys and Steelers can report on July 21 because they’ll play in the Hall of Fame Game, while the Bucs will report on July 24 for their Thursday night season opener against Dallas.
The Rams, of course, will report on July 27, since they play on Sunday night in Week 1.
For the first time, the NFL will have a unified start to training camp, with 29 teams set to report Tuesday, July 27 — 47 days before the Sunday of Week 1, as allowed by the CBA — and plans for league-wide practices and fan events Saturday, July 31.
Midsummer Madness, anyone?
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 25, 2021
The Rams haven’t yet announced where they will hold training camp this year, but with fans being able to attend, it’s likely that they’ll return to UC Irvine. Last year, teams weren’t able to travel for camp, so the Rams had to stay at Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks instead of heading to Irvine for their usual camp headquarters.
Protocols for fans at training camp are still being ironed out, but being able to attend at all is a big step toward things getting back to normal.
O’Reilly said the NFL is still finalizing protocols with the NFLPA and camps may look different in terms of proximity to players, autographs, etc. But with plans already in motion to have stadiums at 100% capacity, fans’ return to camp is another big step towards normality.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 25, 2021
