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49ers Home Games And Practices May Be Moved After Santa Clara County Banned Contact Sports

Much like the rest of the United States, California is experiencing a new surge in COVID-19 cases and local governments are acting to limit the spread ahead of what could be a deadly winter in America. Some of those rules, it seems, may impact where the San Francisco 49ers play home games.

Santa Clara County, where the team practices and plays, reportedly banned contact sports even played outside.

As ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted, that may mean the Niners do need to find a new place to both play home games and practice, at least until the new restrictions end.

The easy answer could be simply playing home games in opposing team’s stadiums, though if those games have spectators there’s a competitive advantage that could be at play. It’s another wrinkle in what’s been a very odd NFL season. And though the moves are a new complication and may be frustrating for some fans, it’s far from the only way the coronavirus pandemic is currently impacting the NFL. Another pair of games were moved this week due to infections on both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. More positive cases were reported on Saturday, putting even the Tuesday rescheduling of that game into some doubt.

There’s also the matter of the Denver Broncos and their quarterbacks, who may have also been exposed to COVID-19 ahead of their Week 12 matchup.

In not orchestrating a bubble and playing in home stadiums and the larger country as a whole, the NFL invited a slew of potential problems in actually pulling off a full season in a pandemic. As the weeks go on, it seems more and more like the league is running out of ways to deal with them all without significantly impacting its schedule and the way seasons play out.