The Los Angeles Rams have announced that they will be among the teams taking precautions ahead of the 2020 NFL season due to the outbreak of coronavirus.
“The Los Angeles Rams are asking employees to work from home,” the team said in a statement. “We have also suspended team-sponsored activities until further notice. Our personnel department will not host college draftee visits and our scouts will not travel to attend any college workouts. “
In addition to the Rams, teams such as the Philadelphia Eagles and the New Orleans Saints have already taken steps by preventing members of their staff from traveling to any of the pro days throughout the nation. It is safe to assume that the rest of the league will do the same and may have to prepare for even more severe restrictions.
The NBA has taken unprecedented action by suspending the 2019-20 NBA season until the disease can be contained. The pandemic has been magnified by the fact that Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert and guard Donovan Mitchell tested positive for COVID-19.
It’s beginning to look like the NFL may very well have to follow the same course of action that the other professional sports have taken in response to the outbreak. With the 2020 NFL Draft only a month away, the league may need to consider an alternative that would avoid having so many people meet in one place. Unfortunately, it also remains to be seen if it will affect the date times for the start of the 2020 league year as well.
The Rams are set to usher in a new era at SoFi Stadium this season after spending the last four years at the Coliseum following the relocation. Aside from serving as the home of them and the Los Angeles Chargers, it was also set to become a major hub for entertainment and were already preparing to host a number of high-profile events.
Los Angeles had already gotten an early start on protecting their players after canceling safety Taylor Rapp’s trip to China back in early February due to concerns about how deeply affected they were by the coronavirus. For now, they will focus on proceeding with business as usual until the league announces further instructions.
