#J.J. Watt has list of coronavirus concerns ahead of NFL training camp

The NFL’s biggest advantage during the coronavirus pandemic is almost finished.

While other major professional sports leagues were interrupted during or near the start of their regular season, the NFL had the luxury of time and taking a wait-and-see approach. Well, the clock is almost expired, and there are still too many unanswered questions for the players’ liking.

J.J. Watt, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year and a Walter Payton Man of the Year Award winner, revealed some of the lingering issues Thursday.

After joining four conference calls with the National Football League Players Association over the past two weeks, Watt is seeking further clarity and said players still do not know:

• If there will be two preseason games (as the league wants) or zero (as the union wants)
• The frequency of testing, whether daily or semi-daily
• How a positive test will affect contracts and roster spots
• Of a valid Infectious Disease Emergency Response plan from any team or the league

Watt added “nothing has been agreed upon regarding what training camp will actually look like and how the ‘ramp up’ period will work.” One sticking point is thought to be whether at-risk players will have an opt-out availability and how much, if any, of their salary will be paid if they exercise it.

But Watt started and ended his message by saying players “want to play,” which could be interpreted as encouraging or as deflecting responsibility if this heads to an ugly labor dispute, as was the case with MLB.

Rookies for Watt’s Houston Texans and the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are scheduled to report Saturday. Rookies for the Giants and Jets are due Tuesday, with veterans joining for the start of camps July 28.

“Every decision this year that prioritizes normalcy over innovation, custom over science or even football over health, significantly reduces our chances of completing the full season,” NFLPA president J.C. Tretter, an offensive lineman for the Cincinnati Bengals, wrote in an open letter earlier this month.

Giants’ union rep Nate Solder later tweeted, “If the NFL doesn’t do their part to keep players healthy, there is no football in 2020. It’s that simple.”

The NFL issued a set of protocols earlier this summer that included wearing protective face masks around the facility, outdoor and virtual team meetings, social distancing in the locker room and contract tracing for positive tests.

The union reported 72 players — about 2.5 percent of the league — are known to have tested positive (before all have been tested) as of the end of last week and publicized a heat map of coronavirus hot spots.

The league could require players to report on time under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, but there is discussion of reducing training camp roster sizes from 90 players per team, with even greater limitations on the number simultaneously allowed in the building.