When San Francisco 49ers players are finally able to enter the team's facilities, things will be a lot different compared to when they left. Aside from being required to wear face masks — apart from when they are alone in a room — they'll notice a lot of things missing.
Gone are all of the seats and tables in the team's cafeteria. Players can no longer dine there. They will need to grab their pre-packaged food and go, eating it outside or in the offices.
Most of the seating in the main auditorium where full-team meetings are typically held will now have caution tape draped over them, preventing players — or anyone — from sitting too close to another person.
Of course, none of this will happen until players report to training camp, take their COVID-19 tests, self-quarantine for two days, return for the second round of tests, and have both return negative. Rookies, quarterbacks, and injured players are scheduled to report for testing on Thursday while the rest of the team will begin the process next week.
Matt Barrows of The Athletic points out that there is one advantage that the 49ers have over some other NFL teams across the country — the proximity to their home stadium, Levi's Stadium. They will be allowed to use the robust accommodations at the modern sports facility throughout training camp. So, while one position group gathers in a meeting room, or even the auditorium mentioned above, another can find some much-needed meeting space within any of the many clubs located throughout Levi's Stadium.
"Their headquarters is mere steps from their home stadium, which has ample space," wrote Barrows in his Monday column. "The 49ers, in fact, could begin utilizing an auxiliary locker room inside the stadium if their main space gets too cramped."