Fully vaccinated NFL personnel no longer required to wear masks at team facilities

One day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention loosened mask recommendations for individuals fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the NFL followed suit. 

Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport (h/t Grant Gordon), the league informed teams via a memo sent Friday that fully vaccinated players and staff members no longer need to wear approved face coverings inside or outside at club facilities. 

"Effective immediately, fully vaccinated Tiered staff and players will not be required to wear masks anywhere in the club facility, either indoors or outdoors," the memo reads. Like with MLB, NFL personnel are considered fully vaccinated 14 days following the last dose of a vaccine shot. Those who are partially vaccinated or not vaccinated must still wear masks. 

As ESPN's Kevin Seifert reported, Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski removed his mask during Friday's rookie minicamp session upon learning of the update. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said in April the team's entire coaching staff and management team had been vaccinated. 

"There were some people I didn't realize what they looked like," Stefanski joked.

Stefanski, the winner of the 2020 Professional Football Writers of America Coach of the Year and Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year awards, is the star of a new Ohio public service announcement that urges residents to receive COVID-19 vaccine shots as soon as possible.