The NFL isn’t ready to add an 18th week to the regular season to account for coronavirus makeup games, nor is it ready to implement a bubble or move the Super Bowl back. But the league wouldn’t rule it out, either.
“I think if there was one consistent theme to our season it’s flexibility and adapting …” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday after the second day of virtual owners meetings. “Flexibility is going to be critical. …
“We will have flexibility to be able to complete our season for the Super Bowl. That’s the goal. We’re all focused on that. And to do it safely.”
NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said his focus is on playing the complete season slate in 17 weeks — but he knows that an 18th week could still be an option.
Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, said implementing a bubble — for the playoffs or otherwise — is not the “safest course of action for us.” He said the bubble takes a “human, emotional and behavioral health toll” on participants, who would be sequestered from their families for months, particularly during the holidays.
They spoke Tuesday hours before the Titans finally resumed play after having 23 positive tests since Sept. 24. The Patriots have put quarterback Cam Newton and reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore on the reserve/COVID-19 list this month.
The Bears have one player who’s tested positive — practice squad offensive lineman Badara Traore.
From Aug. 1-Oct. 10, the NFL has given more than 400,000 tests to players and personnel. Thirty-nine players have tested positive — but eight came in the last six days of the report.
Sills said he told owners that the league will continue to find positive cases, but the goal is to “make sure a campfire does not turn into a forest fire.”
Sunday night, the NFL said will implement day-of-game testing for players and coaches. They’d previously been tested every day but game day. The NFL also said teams must wear masks during walk-throughs. Coaches must wear masks during games — even if they also have a face shield.
Perhaps most importantly, the league ruled that players or coaches who had close contact with someone who’s tested positive will be considered “high-risk” and will have to stay away from the practice facility for five days. That could cost them to miss games even if they test negative.
