NFL Announces Earliest Date Teams Can Reopen Facilities and it Feels Way Too Soon

There's finally some good news that points to the return of the NFL, as teams will slowly start reopening their facilities in short order.

But perhaps it's not great news at all.

The league is now allowing some front office staff and players that are rehabbing major injuries into team facilities, if it's allowed under their respective state laws, starting on Tuesday, May 19th. Only 50% of the most essential front office personnel will be permitted to return.

The league memo also stated that players and coaches won't return in full until it's safe for every team to have its full staff on-site in order to ensure that no team gets a competitive edge over any other.

Especially because the regular season is still months away, it seems odd for the NFL to return to practice facilities before other leagues that got delayed or halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the MLB and NHL. Even though there will be social distancing guidelines in place, having any personnel at facilities without ample testing in all of our cities feels like a dangerous risk.

It is understandable why the NFL wants to start re-opening and phasing back their employee as quickly as possible. Massive amounts of money are riding on the upcoming football season starting on time. However, there is no reason to rush the process, as training camps are still some ways away.

That the NFL is committed to a return to normalcy isn't automatically a sin. But the risk of this early transition blowing up in their faces just feels too great.