UNDATED (AP) — The NFL is mandating that only fully vaccinated personnel, with a maximum of 50 people, will have access to locker rooms while players are present on game days.
In a memo sent to the 32 teams and obtained by The Associated Press, the policy becomes effective immediately. The personnel covered by the policy includes coaches, athletic trainers, equipment staffers, one general manager, one team security representative, three club communications media workers and one clubhouse support staffer.
Players are not required to be vaccinated against COVID-19, but the NFL has reported that more than 90% of them are.
In other NFL news:
— The Rams have acquired running back Sony Michel from the Patriots for undisclosed 2022 draft picks. Michel brings some help to a Rams offense that was running low on healthy options with the regular season fast approaching.
— Packers wide receiver Devin Funchess has gone on injured reserve after hurting his hamstring in a joint practice with the Jets last week. The move ends the season for Funchess, who hasn’t played a regular-season game since September 2019.
— Veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph is finally on the field with the New York Giants after passing his physical. Rudolph was taken off the physically unable to perform/active list and will practice on a limited basis this week after recovering from offseason foot surgery.
— Trevor Lawrence will start Jacksonville’s season opener at Houston on Sept. 12. Coach Urban Meyer gave Lawrence the nod over third-year pro Gardner Minshew after two preseason games and a month of training camp. Lawrence was the first player taken in this year’s draft.
— The Broncos are going with Teddy Bridgewater over Drew Lock as their starting quarterback. Bridgewater was acquired from Carolina for a sixth-round draft pick in April.
— Tight end Luke Willson said he’s stepping away from football one day after re-signing with the Seahawks. In a lengthy statement on social media, Willson said he spent time in the hospital during the offseason due to a pericardial effusion. He said the hospitalization changed his perspective on his life.
— Jets defensive end Vinny Curry says he has a rare blood disorder that required his spleen to be removed. The 33-year-old Curry wrote in posts on Twitter and Instagram that Jets team doctors discovered the disorder last month, but he didn’t specify the condition ailing him.
