Dallas Cowboys players, coaches, and staff members are forming a training camp bubble on the team’s campus in an effort to curtail COVID-19, ESPN reported Tuesday.
A “large number” of the contingent will isolate themselves at the Omni Hotel, a five-star facility attached to, and overlooking, Dallas’ practice field, the 12,000-seat Ford Center. This is the team hotel of choice on nights before regular-season home games at AT&T Stadium.
It’s believed that the “majority” of personnel will house themselves in the bubble by Friday, when on-field practices are set to begin for the first time this year.
The Cowboys were scheduled to hold camp in Oxnard, Calif., before the coronavirus prohibited teams from traveling this summer. Such a maneuver, ideal for socially-responsible chemistry-building, was scrapped this offseason along with Organized Team Activities (OTAs), minicamps, and the preseason.
This is the next best thing.
“With the ability to do something similar at the Omni, the Cowboys believe setting up their own bubble will help their preparations under new coach Mike McCarthy,” wrote ESPN’s Todd Archer.
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COVID Clear
Dallas has done a solid job in its fight against the virus. To date, only two in-house players — wide receiver Jon’Vea Johnson and cornerback Saivion Smith — were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Both have since been removed from the list.
“The team has been pleasantly surprised at the low number of positive COVID-19 tests,” sources told ESPN.
Three Cowboys players, including starting fullback Jamize Olawale and free-agent signing cornerback Maurice Canady, voluntarily opted out of the 2020 campaign after the league amended the Collective Bargaining Agreement to combat the pandemic.
“The reality is the other 31 teams are going through the exact same situation,” McCarthy said on Aug. 7, via the official team website. “You want to create the most competitive environment you possibly can, whether it’s in the classroom – you can do that in way the meetings are designed.
“Next Friday will be our next practice in shells and we’ll take that to a different level as far as the competition. But you’re looking at everything. We’re obviously at an 80-man roster point right now. We’re going to do the best we can to make sure we pick the right guys.”
Cowboys Cut Rookie WR From 80-Man Roster
In a corresponding roster move after activating two players from the COVID-19 list, the Cowboys waived undrafted rookie wide receiver Kendrick Rogers, the team announced Sunday.
Rogers played collegiately at Texas A&M where he caught 68 passes for 786 yards and seven touchdowns across 23 career games. He was part of the team’s UDFA haul which also included WRs Aaron Parker and Stephen Guidry. Guidry opted out of the 2020 season.
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‘Large Number’ of Cowboys Creating Training Camp Bubble: Report