Sean McVay Says He's 'A Little Skeptical' NFL Training Camps Will Open on Time


Rookies and quarterbacks will report this week, while veteran players are scheduled to arrive on July 28.

On the brink of NFL training camps kicking off, Rams coach Sean McVay remains doubtful they will open as scheduled.

"Usually when you get about a week out, and right now that's exactly where we're at, you start to get revved up, starting to get excited," McVay said on the Helliepod. "And there's something about this time that you know the amount of things that have to take place for that to logistically get off and get going, something about it tells me maybe there's a chance that things get moved back."

Rookies on the Chiefs and Texans reported to camp Monday following the NFL's confirmation of the training camp dates on Saturday. All other rookies will report on July 21, while quarterbacks and injured players are set to arrive on July 23. Veteran players are due on July 28. The dates slightly differed for both Kansas City and Houston since they will kick off the regular season on Thursday, Sept. 10. 

Despite the announced schedule, the NFL and NFL Players Association have yet to reach an agreement on health and safety protocols amid the coronavirus pandemic. The NFL has not granted players the 21-day training camp acclimation period recommended by the joint medical committee. Instead, the league wants to make room for two preseason games, while the NFLPA wants zero preseason games.

Numerous NFL players took to Twitter Sunday afternoon to call out the league for ignoring player safety. Stars such as JJ Watt and Drew Brees pointed out that players want to hold the 2020 NFL season but questions over COVID-19 protocols leave them feeling uneasy ahead of training camp.

Despite the tension building over these issues, McVay believes the regular season will be played.

"What I've been telling our people is, 'Hey, we're going to have a great plan, whether we get a chance to execute that plan now or a little bit later remains to be seen,' " McVay said. "But I am confident we will have a season, we'll be able to play football. Whether or not it goes exactly on the schedule we've all seen, that's something that I'm a little skeptical of right now."