ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — In a new memo from Commissioner Roger Goodell regarding 2020 training camps, the NFL announced a new pair of regulations, including that joint practices will not be allowed.
The Broncos, who have taken part in joint-practice sessions with another team in each of the past six seasons, had previously hoped to conduct one for a seventh consecutive season in 2020 against the Bears. Chicago is scheduled to travel to Denver for a game in Week 2 of the preseason.
Instead, the Broncos must practice on their own.
Goodell also informed teams that they must hold training camps at their own facilities, which could still include each team's home stadium. In 2019, the Broncos held a free training camp practice at Empower Field at Mile High and drew more than 21,000 fans.
The new guidelines were developed by joint task forces from the NFL and the NFL Players Association with the goal being to cut down risks for exposure to the novel coronavirus. The change eliminates the need for clubs to have to clean multiple facilities, prevents players and staff members from traveling to another location and limits contact between players on different clubs.
The task force included the NFL's chief medical officer, Allen Sills, representatives from almost every team, medical experts from the Center for Disease Control, infectious disease experts from Duke University and other universities and the NFLPA medical team.
