ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — With coronavirus debilitating the sports world, the Broncos executive staff led by Joe Ellis held a lengthy meeting Thursday morning at the team’s headquarters to discuss precautions that needed to be followed.
Ellis, the team’s chief executive officer and president, and his top department heads including general manager John Elway decided that: "Effective immediately and until further notice, the Broncos are allowing all employees who have the ability to work from home the option to do so."
The Broncos added in a statement: "The team is prioritizing its employees’ health, their families and the community over all operations – both football and business."
The team stopped short of a total shutdown – many businesses including the media business are still operating – as there are certain football, security and facility personnel that have to work on-site. However, most Broncos employees are expected to work from home for the foreseeable future.
The Broncos do have a few scouts currently on the road. The team is evaluating league and state-health recommendations on how to proceed.
Elway, his personnel staff, Broncos head coach Vic Fangio and his staff have been at UCHealth Training Center in recent days prepping for free agency that begins Monday with a 48-hour negotiating window. The official start of the league season is 2 p.m. Wednesday.
So far, the NFL is planning to carry on with free agency as scheduled. There is also the players’ vote on the proposed 17-game collective bargaining agreement that concludes Saturday – which would financially affect new business – and the NFL Draft that is to be held April 23-25 in Las Vegas.
The league did postpone its annual owners meetings that were to be held March 29-April at the Breakers hotel in West Palm Beach, Fla. Those meetings have been rescheduled and condensed to May 19-20 in Florida.
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