In 2019, the Miami Dolphins took advantage of the opportunity to hold joint practices with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the preseason to provide the team with a fresh test. During the sweltering days of July and August, emotions can run high among teammates after weeks of hitting each other — so the chance to crack pads with someone else for a few days is a welcomed breath of fresh air. But in 2020, there will be no joint practices between teams; even though the Dolphins have already been tied to a potential joint effort with the Atlanta Falcons for this year’s camp.
Why? The NFL, amid their re-opening plan amid the COVID-19 pandemic across the country, is looking to minimize team travel beyond that which is necessary — and multi-team contact over several days did not make the league’s cut for establishing acceptable guidelines to return.
The NFL sent out a memo yesterday to inform the teams.
Both the Bills and Dolphins were mentioned by Falcons head coach Dan Quinn as candidates to participate in joint practices in 2020 — but now all teams must not only remain bunkered down at their team facilities for the duration of training camp but they must also avoid multi-team contact to ensure safe procedures as the league looks to re-open and run their 2020 season without interruption.
We will continue to learn more about the NFL’s re-opening procedures and plans in the coming weeks — although the next step for the league is to re-open the team facilities for coaching staffs. The expectation is that will come sooner rather than later, potentially before the end of the week.
