The Dolphin
Well-known member
- Mar 19, 2019
- 1,858
- 0
Getty Images
Dolphins coach Brian Flores has visited with other NFL coaches, sharing ideas on how to keep players safe while playing during a pandemic.
While the NFL and its Players Association still have several major issues to iron out before training camps open, Flores is preparing as if the league will stay on schedule.
“I’m cautiously optimistic we’re going to play,” Flores told Hal Habib of the Palm Beach Post on Tuesday. “I think a lot has to go right and I think we’re doing the things we need to do as an organization here to make sure those things go right.”
Florida remains a COVID-19 hot spot with 9,194 new cases Tuesday and 134 new deaths.
The Dolphins have added an infectious disease specialist from Baptist Health to the organization’s medical staff. They have added a second locker room with plexiglass between stalls and modified the weight room.
Meetings will take place virtually when possible.
“We’ve tried to think outside the box in all areas,” Flores said. “As a staff, as an organization, we’ve combed through the CDC and the NFL facility guidelines, and what we’ve done is we’ve thought to ourselves, ‘What can we do to go above what those guidelines are?’ We understand — I understand — players are going to be on high alert when they get here, if they get here, and we just want to put them at ease. Our goal is to make sure our facility is a place where the players feel safe.”
Flores conceded that players have to “take some ownership” in taking precautions when away from the facility to stay healthy.