KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The newest batch of Kansas City Chiefs are slated to begin NFL training camp Monday, but the team’s biggest stars remain hesitant.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Safety Tyrann Mathieu joined the growing list of players pushing the league for concrete COVID-19 safety policies before the start of training camps this week.
Players around the league used the hashtag #WeWanttoPlay in hopes of getting their message across to league officials.
“Getting ready to report this week,” Mahomes tweeted Sunday morning, just 18 hours from the time rookies were reportedly told to report to team facilities for virus testing.
“Hoping the@NFL will come to agreement with the safe and right protocols so we can feel protected playing the sport we love,” he wrote.
The league’s VP of Football Operations Troy Vincent reportedly issued training camp reporting dates of July 21 for rookie players, July 23 for quarterbacks and injured players with a final report day on July 28 for each remaining player.
Because the Chiefs and Texans open the season on Thursday, Sept.10, both teams are reportedly on a faster timeline.
“It’s not about money,” safety Tyrann Mathieu tweeted. “It’s about health & safety. Do the right thing@nfl,” he finished.
Star players around the NFL echoed the sentiments.
The NFL has ignored the safety recommendations from the experts that THEY hired. We all love this game and want to go out and compete with our brothers. The NFL needs to provide a safe work environment for us to do that. #WeWantToPlay
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) July 19, 2020
I am concerned.
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) July 19, 2020
My wife is pregnant.@NFL Training camp is about to start..
And there’s still No Clear Plan on Player Health & Family Safety. 🤷🏾
We want to play football but we also want to protect our loved ones. #WeWantToPlay
What you are seeing today is our guys standing up for each other and for the work their union leadership has done to keep everyone as safe as possible. The NFL needs to listen to our union and adopt the experts' recommendations #wewanttoplay
— JC Tretter (@JCTretter) July 19, 2020
Once again in the interest of keeping everyone (players & fans) as informed as possible, here is an updated list of what we as players know and don’t know as the first group gets set to report to training camp tomorrow.#WeWantToPlay pic.twitter.com/xQcjs33zgM
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) July 19, 2020
