Dolphins Training Camp to Open on Schedule

The Miami Dolphins and the rest of the NFL teams were informed that the reporting dates for training camp will remain as scheduled

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Game on!

Well, technically, it's practice. Training camp, to be precise.

The Miami Dolphins and the other 31 NFL teams received a memo from the league Saturday informed them that reporting dates for training camp 2020 would remain as initially schedule after all the uncertainty created by the coronavirus pandemic.

For the Dolphins, that means rookies will be reporting to the Baptist Health Training Facility at Nova Southeastern University on Tuesday, July 21, quarterbacks and injured players will be arriving Thursday, July 23, and the rest of the players are scheduled to report Tuesday, July 28.

NFL clubs just received this email with reporting dates.

Training camp is on. pic.twitter.com/lya1JtxW4o

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 18, 2020

Some details regarding training camp still have to be ironed between the league and the NFL Players Association, but NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported that only 20 players would be allowed in the facility at a time, "until the NFLPA signs off on infectious disease emergency response plans for each club."

The Dolphins have 22 rookies listed on their roster. That includes their 11 draft picks (Tua Tagovailoa, Austin Jackson, Noah Igbinoghene, Robert Hunt, Raekwon Davis, Brandon Jones, Solomon Kindley, Jason Strowbridge, Curtis Weaver, Blake Ferguson and Malcolm Perry); 10 rookie free agents (Donell Stanley, Nick Kaltmayer, Jonathan Hubbard, Kirk Merritt, Matt Cole, Bryce Sterk, Benito Jones, Ray Lima, Tyshun Render, and Kylan Johnson); as well as Brazilian Durval Queiroz Neto, who joined the Dolphins last year via the International Player Pathway program and spent all of 2019 on the practice squad.

As of now, only 20 players would be allowed in the facility at a time, until the NFLPA signs off on infectious disease emergency response plans for each club. If protocols aren't met, a grievance could follow. But clubs have the right to set reporting dates within CBA rules.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 18, 2020

NFL players have expressed their concerns about returning to work with coronavirus cases popping up all over the place, and it's particularly significant in Miami, which has been the most affected NFL city.

“The league has made the decision that they want training camp to open on time," NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith said in a Zoom video conference call with the media Friday. "The role of the union is to hold them accountable about whether it is safe, and to what extent it is safe, to open training camp now."

There still figures to be a lot of negotiating until camps actually start, with decisions to be made of the nature of practices, whether there will be preseason games at all, what happens if a player tests positive for the coronavirus, etc.

As of now, it appears the first days will involve player testing, but beyond that, who knows.

What we do know is that camps will start on schedule.

RELATED: Dolphins Taking Safety Measures at Facility

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Alain Poupart has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989. You can follow him on Twitter at @apoupartFins.