As the ongoing situation with COVID-19 continues to evolve, so is the NFL, with its latest protocol change coming in the enforcement department.
The NFL sent out new, stricter COVID-19 protocols to all 32 teams Tuesday. In addition to the inclusion of video surveillance requirements, each team must also identify at least three Tier 1 staff members as "mask compliance officers" who will be responsible for policing mask use within the club facility and during travel, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported, per the updated protocols finalized Tuesday.
Tier 1 members include players, coaches, athletic trainers, team physicians, strength and conditioning coaches, equipment managers and all other essential personnel who must have direct access to the players, per the NFL's protocol.
The updated protocols sent out Tuesday included a requirement of clubs to maintain copies of video surveillance of their facilities and practice areas for 30 days in order to allow NFL security to review the footage if necessary following an outbreak. The new protocols also required all players and staff to wear masks at all times while in the facility and on the practice field, with an exception for interference with athletic activity, forced teams to develop schedules to minimize time players spend together in locker rooms and avoid concentrating position groups in one area, and banned groups of more than three tiered individuals (including players) from gathering outside of the club facility or team travel.
Earlier Wednesday, Pelissero reported the NFL and NFLPA are looking into whether Titans players have been working out together offsite while the team's facility was closed due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the organization. Two more Titans players tested positive Wednesday, bringing the total cases to 20 within the organization.
