NFL essentially drops all COVID-19 protocols, effective immediately

After two years of evolving protocols in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NFL and NFLPA announced on Thursday that they are effectively dropping all protocols.

“Based on current encouraging trends regarding the prevalence and severity of COVID-19, the evolving guidance from the CDC, changes to state law and the counsel of our respective experts, the NFL and NFLPA have agreed to suspend all aspects of the join COVID-19 Protocols, effective immediately,” a memo to teams read, via NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

That means, regardless of vaccination status, there will be no masks required at team facilities, no regular COVID testing for players, no contact tracing, no capacity limits in specific rooms, or social distancing required.

The only protocol that appears to be in place is the isolation of COVID-positive employees for at least five days.

Hopefully, this return to normalcy will stick as COVID cases continue to drop nationally, both in terms of overall positive tests and hospitalizations caused by the virus.