Fully vaccinated NFL players, staff don’t have to wear masks

FILE - In this Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015 file photo, NFL Logo is seen on the goal post padding before an NFL preseason football game between the Detroit Lions and the New York Jets at Ford Field in Detroit. The process of building the NFL schedule used to be a painstaking one with executives like Val Pinchbeck spending months slotting the games one by one on his board until there was a final product for the commissioner to approve. Making late tweaks or looking at alternative options with a big game moving from early to late in the season weren't really possible for all the pieces of the complicated jigsaw puzzle to fit.(AP Photo/Rick Osentoski, File) (Rick Osentoski)

The NFL is not requiring fully vaccinated players and staff to wear masks at team facilities following the CDC’s latest guidance regarding COVID-19. In a memo sent to clubs on Friday and obtained by The Associated Press, the league and the NFL Players Association made the modification after consulting with their medical and scientific experts. Players and tiered staff who haven’t been fully vaccinated must continue to wear masks until they receive it. Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski learned of the news Friday on the practice field during rookie camp. The reigning NFL Coach of the Year was able to take his mask off for the first time as a head coach.

The NFL is not requiring fully vaccinated players and staff to wear masks at team facilities following the CDC’s latest guidance regarding COVID-19.

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In a memo sent to clubs on Friday and obtained by The Associated Press, the league and the NFL Players Association made the modification after consulting with their medical and scientific experts. Players and tiered staff who haven’t been fully vaccinated must continue to wear masks until they receive it, if they plan to get it.

Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski learned of the news on the practice field during rookie camp. The reigning NFL Coach of the Year was able to take his mask off for the first time as a head coach.

``It felt pretty good. There were some people I didn’t realize what they looked like,’' he said.

Clubs were told to review current and local state regulations and to have the vaccine available for players and staff.

``We expect additional modifications will be made to the protocols consistent with CDC guidelines reflecting the greatly reduced risk of viral infection and transmission in fully vaccinated individuals,’' the memo read.