Cowboys coaches, staff staying in 'bubble' to avoid COVID-19 spread

The Dallas Cowboys are going back to what worked in preventing the spread of COVID-19 during training camp. 

Per Todd Archer of ESPN, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones explained during his weekly segment on radio station 105.3 The Fan that the team is having coaches and staff members stay in a "bubble environment" at the Omni Hotel located next to the franchise's practice facility.

"We're going in a more intense way, and we're having our coaches restrict their activities away from the field and restrict their contacts away from the field," Jones said. "We're having all staff that touch a player do that. That's in addition to what the NFL is doing."

Quarterback Andy Dalton, who replaced the injured Dak Prescott, entered the reserve/COVID-19 list on Nov. 3, and the Cowboys went into the league's intensive protocols last week after a Pittsburgh Steelers player tested positive for the coronavirus following a game between those two teams played on Nov. 8. 

Staying at the Omni during training camp was optional for Cowboys players since the collective bargaining agreement doesn't allow teams to mandate where personnel live. However, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported that the club's non-player employees have little say in the matter heading into the holiday season. 

Even though COVID-19 cases are spiking throughout Texas and other parts of the country, Jones insisted that he plans to increase attendance for home games as the season continues. 

"I'm very proud of the fact that we do it safely, we do it smartly," Jones said. "Our fans are really helpful, to say the very least, in playing in front of those fans. I see a continued aggressive approach to having fans out there. We'll see. That's not being insensitive to the fact that we've got our COVID and an outbreak. Some say maybe it is, but not when we're doing it as safe as we are, and not when you're having the results we are. Literally, we have had no one report that they've had any contact with COVID from coming to our game. No one."

31,700 spectators attended the Dallas-Pittsburgh game that the Steelers won. The Cowboys next host the Washington Football Team on Thanksgiving Day following a road game at the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday.