Report: NFL to announce all teams will hold training camps at local facilities

According to a report from ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter — and previous reports from others — the NFL is about to announce that all teams will be required to hold training camps at their own local facilities this summer.

And yes... this means that despite their new agreement with Missouri Western State University, the Kansas City Chiefs will not hold their 2020 training camp in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Does that also mean that the public will not be able to attend training camp sessions — as they have been able to do during Chiefs training camps in previous seasons? In all probability... yes. The Chiefs’ practice facility at Arrowhead Stadium just isn’t suitable for that.

This obviously has to do with the COVID-19 pandemic that continues in the United States. Due to local restrictions, some teams may not be able to travel to their usual training camp locations — and as the NFL has done with some consistency during the pandemic, they are requiring a level playing field; they aren’t going to allow some teams to do something that other teams cannot.

In addition, any practices held outside team facilities will — by definition — bring more people into contact with team staff, coaches and players. If the league is to have any hope of playing the 2020 season, they must do everything they can to be sure that teams are not exposed to carriers of the disease; should players contract it, they’ll have to be kept from playing until they are no longer carrying the virus.

While this will be a very disappointing development for thousands of fans who enjoy traveling to St. Joseph for training camp practices, it might end up being a relatively small price to pay to have football in 2020.