NFL, NFLPA agree to suspend all COVID-19 protocols

The NFL and NFL Players Association are officially putting COVID-19 in the rearview mirror.

In a memo addressed to teams, the NFL and NFLPA announced that they "have agreed to suspend all aspects of the joint COVID-19 protocols, effective immediately." Those protocols included — but weren't limited to — rules for wearing masks, surveillance testing and capacity limits.

The decision comes just two weeks after the NFLPA and a group of player agents railed against strict bubble protocols put in place for the NFL Combine, even going so far as to threaten a boycott. The league quickly reversed course, canceling the protocols and instead telling players they could leave secure areas at their own risk.

While no games were canceled during the 2021 NFL season, the league's joint protocols with the NFLPA did cause several players to miss games.

The decision to lift the protocols came due to "current encouraging trends regarding the prevalence and severity" of COVID-19.