The NFL isn't backing down from its hope of a season in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, despite facing a new set of problems and dwindling time to get everything figured out. Things appeared to be swiftly getting back on track in time to end the virtual offseason on June 26 and potentially aim at opening training camps in mid- to late-July, , but things are taking a dark turn as of late. Groups of players from several teams tested positive for the coronavirus in June -- -- leading to the NFLPA asking players to .Each of these situations is a Michal Neuvirth Men Jersey black eye to the chances of an season in the fall, but the league is there will be games played in 2020, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.The NFL and NFLPA recently released a joint set of stringent COVID-19 protocol each team must adhere to before players are allowed to return to facilities, , but head coaches John Harbaugh and Sean McVay have already profe sed some of it as "humanly impo sible," given how football is a contact sport. None of it seems to deter the league's front office though, with their bigger concern seemingly being if fans will be allowed to attend games. When it comes to that, the league reportedly isn't so hopeful, despite states like Texas having entered Chris Bigras Jersey Phase 3 of reopening -- granting teams That was in early June though, before the rash of positive COVID-19 tests that included both the Cowboys and the , and the reopening of Florida has been met with positive tests from at least one coach and several players of the . That said, it remains unlikely teams like the Cowboys would be willing to take on the liability of opening the doors to fans.Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the leading voice on how the country should manage the coronavirus pandemic, agrees that all hope is not yet lost for a po sible NFL season in 2020 -- albeit with a stern warning. Fauci feels the only way it will/can take place is if the league follows the example of the soon-to-reopen , as the latter readies to resume its season using Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida as a bubble."Unle s players are -- insulated from the community and they are tested nearly every day -- it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall," Fauci said, via CNN. "If there is a second wave, which is certainly a po sibility Colin Mcdonald Jersey and which would be complicated by the predictable flu season, football may not happen this year." Fauci's comments were met with a response from Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL's chief medical officer."Dr. Fauci has identified the important health and safety i sues we and the NFL Players A sociation, together with our joint medical advisors, are addre sing to mitigate the health risk to players, coaches and other e sential personnel," he said. "We are developing a comprehensive and rapid-result testing program and rigorous protocols that call for a shared responsibility from everyone inside our football ecosystem. This is based on the collective guidance of public health Jakub Voracek Men Jersey officials, including the White House task force, the CDC, infectious disease experts and other sports leagues."Sills went on to acknowledge what the NFL is up against, but echoes reporting of the league's optimism regarding the season. "Make no mistake, this is no easy task," he added. "We will make adjustments as nece sary to meet the public health environment as we prepare to play the 2020 season as scheduled with increased protocols and safety measures for all players, personnel and attendees. We will be flexible and adaptable in this environment to adjust to the virus as needed."As for the bubble concept, Sills in an interview with NFL Network."We do not feel it's practical or appropriate to construct a bubble," he said. "Anyone who tests positive will be isolated until medically appropriate to return." This of course introduces a myriad of po sible scenarios that could create , as players and/or coaches Dale Weise Jersey potentially test positive for COVID-19 with some of the biggest games on the calendar. There are some very real nightmare scenarios hiding in the bushes for the NFL over the coming weeks and months, but the biggest would be to see the season canceled altogether, and the league is far from throwing in the towel in that fight -- at least for now.