The Detroit Lions started off the road to their 2020 training camp bumpy as a team that had multiple presumed coronavirus cases, but things have gotten a lot more steady in recent days.
Since the team has come into the building and withstood the early flurry of tests and players being placed on the COVID/Reserve list, there has been a lack of coronavirus positive tests. That’s continued through the start of this week in early August.
Another day of no positive COVID tests for the Lions. They haven’t had any since entering the building Aug. 1. Good to see.
The Lions are setting their sights toward training camp and getting health ahead of that is a huge goal. So far, so good for the Lions, who only have safety Jalen Elliott remaining on the COVID/Reserve list at this point in time.
The hope is Elliott can get healthy and the team can get back to a clean bill of health, at least in terms of COVID. Managing a team during an unprecedented pandemic is tough and ever changing duty, but so far, the Lions have been doing a decent job to manage the virus as best they can.
Lions Removed Significant Names From COVID List
Early on, the Lions had as many as 8 players on the list, which was close to an NFL high at the time. With Matthew Stafford’s false positive allowing him to return to work, the Lions are now gradually beginning to welcome others back who have been isolated following testing.
The team has revealed this week that wideout Kenny Golladay and cornerback Justin Coleman are each off the list, meaning they have passed protocol to return to the team at this point in time after either an earlier positive test or contact with someone who had the virus.
Another Lion off the COVID list: WR Kenny Golladay
Justin Coleman also off the COVID reserve list.
Additionally, including that pair, tight end Isaac Nauta has been removed from the list as well. At this point, the biggest name still remaining on the list for the Lions is tight end T.J. Hockenson. Cornerback Amani Oruwariye and punter Arryn Siposs remain on the list.
In the coming days, it will be interesting to see how many of the other Lions players can get themselves off the list. For now, this is a pretty good start.
Lions Revealed Facility Changes for 2020
Recently, ahead of training camp, the team revealed that they had made some changes to things around Allen Park. Rod Wood walked fans through a new video that showed some of the changes around the facility. Some were simple such as arrows on the ground and reminders to keep 6 feet apart with temperature checks. Others, such as a reconfigured lunch room were a bit more complex.
Here’s a look
Come inside the 🏡 of the 🦁 to see how we’ve prepared to welcome our players back for 2020 Training Camp presented by @RocketMortgage.
Perhaps the most interesting new element of the facility was the practice field being used as a 90 player meeting room with seats 6 feet apart. It might be tough, but the Lions seem to be well prepared to deal with their new normal thanks to what they’ve been able to engineer in the meantime. Hopefully, these safeguards continue to help the team.
Bob Quinn Explains Other Lions Changes
The Lions have managed to weather the storm fairly well and are looking prepared to deal with the pandemic as best they can. General manager Bob Quinn spoke with the media and said that the team has been preparing as best they can by cleaning the facility regularly.
Quinn is going over some of the new safety protocols in Allen Park, said Lions have put their facility through 10 deep cleans, which means no one allowed in the building for 48 hours. There’s plexiglass between lockers in the locker room
Additionally, the team’s positional rooms have been moved around in order to better suit the needs of social distancing and the players.
Quinn said the Lions’ QB room is not usable right now because of its size. Every position has gone up a room, essentially, so OL will use the team meeting room, which previously held 120 people. Now holds 34 max.
The team is also going next level in terms of tracking movements within the building, which could be a big plus in terms of limiting the spread.
Players and staff will be wearing microchipped devices (sweat bands, wrist bands), that will track which people you are contact with in the building. Devices blink and give audio alerts if you get too close to people outside designated tiers.
All of these precautions hopefully will mean the Lions can navigate the pandemic well and stay out of trouble in terms of having an outbreak on their team.
So far, so good as it relates to that goal.
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Lions Doing Well to Manage Coronavirus Thus Far