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NFL teams to hold training camps only at main facilities

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NFL teams must hold this summer's training camps only at their main practice facilities rather than other sites, the league announced Tuesday.

"Training camps are required to be held at the club facility (which includes your home stadium)," commissioner Roger Goodell said in a memo, according to USA Today's Mike Jones. "The only exception will be if a club can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of a joint NFL-NFLPA medical task force, that it would not be feasible to conduct at their club facility."

The NFL also announced that teams won't be allowed to hold joint practices this summer "in order to mitigate exposure risks."

"We believe that each of these steps will enhance our ability to protect the health and safety of players and your football staffs," Goodell said.

The league hasn't confirmed when camps will begin.

Training camps were set to open for rookies in mid-July, with veterans joining a week later, according to the NFL's initial schedule. The Hall of Fame Game, which kicks off the preseason, is scheduled for Aug. 6 between the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Several teams have long hosted training camps at locations other than their main facility.

The Dallas Cowboys have held their camp in Oxnard, California, since 2012 while the Carolina Panthers have hosted theirs in Spartanburg, South Carolina, since the franchise's inaugural season in 1995.

Some teams have reopened facilities under the first phase of the NFL's process, which allows for a maximum of 75 employees and doesn't yet include the return of players or coaches. The latter are expected to return to facilities this week.

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