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Miami Dolphins can return to facility soon but not players/coaches

By Brian Miller

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - APRIL 09: Part of the Hard Rock Stadium is seen during the Light It Blue initiative on April 09, 2020 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Landmarks and buildings across the nation are displaying blue lights to show support for health care workers and first responders on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - APRIL 09: Part of the Hard Rock Stadium is seen during the Light It Blue initiative on April 09, 2020 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Landmarks and buildings across the nation are displaying blue lights to show support for health care workers and first responders on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) /
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The Miami Dolphins can open their facilities back up to employees on May 19th if they so desire but there is a caveat that they will need to adhere to.

On Friday, the NFL issued a statement to teams allowing them to return to their facilities and reopen them as part of a phase one return to operations. There are however a lot of restrictions on what teams can and can’t do.

For starters, the limit of employees is 75 and that is a combined total. For example, in Miami, the Dolphins have staff at the Davie training facility and at Hard Rock Stadium but the two combined can only have 75 employees.

In addition, no team can have coaches or players at the facility unless the coach is currently attending to players rehabilitation sessions. In other words, a trainer can be at the facility with a player under his care. Players can continue their rehab but that is it.

Not all teams will be able to open in phase one as the NFL has mandated teams follow the state guidelines. The lack of coaches and players will keep the teams in a fair environment. In New England, the Patriots list their entire roster on the injury report so we can expect them to circumvent this rule.

Team stores will not be allowed to open but the Miami Dolphins are going to open the gates at Hard Rock Stadium so fans can view the statue of Don Shula. They are asking that fans do not leave anything at its base.

The NFL is still holding a belief that the 2020 season will continue as planned and a return to the field will be allowed by training camp. That, however, is likely to not be the case despite their efforts. In California, the governor issued a decree that the “stay at home orders” could last another three months. If California does indeed keep players off practice fields, the NFL will not be able to conduct business elsewhere although California teams could move their sessions out of state for the season if they desire, hypothetically speaking.

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