COVID-19 Latest: Cases, Testing, Physicals

The NFL is a week away from beginning training camps amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is the latest from the league’s defining storyline in the final days of the offseason:

• Ninety-five players have thus far tested positive for the coronavirus, the NFL announced Tuesday. This number, roughly 3.2% of players, will increase when the league begins to test every player. The NFL on Monday agreed on daily testing for the first two weeks of camp.
• Players will not be permitted to enter their respective team’s facility until they test negative twice. The league revealed a schedule for player testing this week. Players will be tested August 1 before self-quarantining for the next two days before being tested again August 4. The daily testing period will begin August 5, when players can enter team facilities for the first time. The NFL can expect to spend about $75MM on coronavirus testing across the season, Andrew Beaton of the Wall Street Journal reports. BioReference Laboratories, the company set to conduct testing, will charge a flat fee for up to 120 tests per day per team. Any additional tests will cost $125 per test, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports.
• Team doctors are expected to resume conducting physicals soon, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Teams have not been able to examine players throughout the 2020 league year. Physicals will not take place, however, until health and safety precautions are fully in place, per Rapoport. Only eight teams’ infectious disease emergency response plans have been approved; the other 24 franchises’ plans are under review. Rookie physicals taking place would represent a key step toward free agents being permitted to visit teams.
• The Rams announced SoFi Stadium’s debut season will feature limited capacity or a no-fan environment. The Rams and Chargers will begin play at the new Inglewood, Calif., stadium this year.
• Two Division I-FCS conferences will not play football this fall. The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association announced they will not play this fall. Both conferences have not ruled out tabling their seasons until the spring. The CAA and MEAC will follow the Ivy and Patriot Leagues in nixing their fall seasons. Junior college football is on track to take place in the spring.