How the 49ers changed to keep players safe from coronavirus when practice starts

The NFL is trudging forward with the start of training camp despite the recent surge in COVID-19 cases around the country. Undoubtedly, things are going to look a lot different once players begin reporting to their facilities around the country over the next week — and that includes the 49ers when they return to Santa Clara.

For now, quarterbacks, injured players and rookies are slated to report to headquarters on Thursday for their first coronavirus test to be conducted in a new medical trailer in the team’s executive parking lot. They will quarantine for two days before taking a second test and then take their physicals beginning Monday, July 27, before being allowed into the facility to begin preparing for the coming season.

The same process begins for all other players when they report Tuesday, July 28. Once they pass their two tests and get their physicals, the entire team can begin working, in person, for the first time since preparing for last winter’s Super Bowl.

That’s also when 14 consecutive days of testing for every player begins. The testing will shift to every other day after two weeks if the rate of positive tests falls below 5 percent, though it’s unclear if that will be the league-wide rate or for each team.

That puts the tentative start of full-team activities around August 2. Though that won’t be when real practice begins. It’s likely the team will start with meetings, conditioning and walk throughs. It will be weeks before getting back to playing football if the NFL Players Association gets its way.

Union president J.C. Tretter, the center for the Cleveland Browns, emphasized the importance of a longer ramp-up period during a conference call with reporters last week, citing the increased injuries during 2011 training camps when there was a truncated offseason because of the lockout.

“I would argue guys are in worse physical shape coming out of this break than out of the lockout break,” Tretter said. “And then comparing it to the lockout and the injury spikes, the 25 percent overall injuries, 44 percent hamstring strains, over double the amount of Achilles injuries, how do you bring a guy back?”

Tretter said the players ideally would get 21 days of conditioning, then 10 days of non-padded practice and finally 14 days of full-contact padded sessions.

That would mean conditioning until the week of Aug. 17, non-padded practices through the end of the month and then padded practices for almost two weeks leading into Week 1, which for the 49ers is Sept. 13 against the Arizona Cardinals.

“That’s the buildup who study the science, who track this data for a decade recommends as the best way guys get from zero coming out of this long break to game speed by the end of it,” Tretter said.

That’s the plan the players have presented to the league which hasn’t been finalized, though it appears both sides are working well together after agreeing on a number of important issues earlier this week, like abolishing the preseason and finalizing the testing protocols. The 49ers should be at an advantage given they’re returning 18 of 22 starters and 10 of 11 on their top-flight defense.

The date of final cuts hasn’t been finalized, nor has the offseason roster size, though multiple reports suggest the two sides are mulling trimming it from 90 to 80. Practice squads could expand to allow more players opportunities despite opening camp with 10 fewer slots. The new CBA signed in the spring broadened the practice squad from 10 to 12 players.

Players should expect notable changes once they’re inside the facility, including mask requirements and dispensers of hand sanitizer readily available.

The 49ers are still trying to finalize their plan for the locker room inside Levi’s Stadium which they use during the week and for home games. One option would be to use every other locker to ensure social distancing (there are roughly 60 lockers in the home locker room) and send other players to one of the two visiting locker rooms on the north side of the building. The less likely option would be to install sheets of plexiglass between each locker which would only solve the issue when players are sitting at their lockers and not moving around.

In the facility, signs and stickers have been put in walking areas to ensure people are walking on the right side of hallways and moving the same direction. There’s no longer tables or chairs in the cafeteria. Players’ food will be pre-made, packaged and served from behind plexiglass. There’s no more made-to-order grill area or self-serve buffet, though players can call in their orders to the team chef beforehand.

Players will have to eat either outside or in their meeting rooms. And a new food area is being constructed outside the weight room by the practice field as the kitchen inside has been removed.

Speaking of meeting rooms, many positional meeting rooms inside the facility are too small for proper social distancing. So the 49ers will have to be creative in constructing new spaces for their film breakdowns.

Levi’s Stadium has a slew of areas that have been often rented out for corporate gatherings, parties and weddings. The building should have no problem accommodating positional meetings with chairs 6 feet apart in front of a projector screen. Most of these spots are expansive with high ceilings.

Another change could be coming away from the team’s facility. A source told The Bee the players union is pushing to be allowed to live out of their homes during training camp instead of a hotel for the first two weeks under normal circumstances.

There would still be players at the team hotel nearby, of course, as many players are new and haven’t found homes in the area. But it likely wouldn’t be a bubble scenario at the hotel for players who stay there, as NBA, NHL and MLS teams are using during their return this month.

There’s an elephant in the room that hasn’t been addressed. Santa Clara County is still working under the guidelines of nonessential workers being ordered to stay at home. That was implemented July 13 when it was placed back on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s watch list in reaction to a surge of cases across the state, including the South Bay.

The 49ers and the county have been engaged in discussions for weeks, though no final agreement has been struck to allow the team to practice, hold meetings or even be in the locker room in a large group. The county is expected to allow players to get tested and undergo physicals in the meantime. That puts a deadline around the first week of August for the county to approve the team’s plan.

According to the 49ers, the two sides have been in “constant communication” and the team has kept the county in the loop on protocols put in place in conjunction with the players union. County leadership did not return a request for comment.