The NFL decided this offseason to begin using medical tents on the sidelines to keep fans’ eyes and television cameras off players who are getting evaluated by team doctors. Now the league has explained the procedures for using those tents.
The tents will only be raised while evaluations are ongoing. Players being evaluated will sit down and have the tents raised around them, and teams will be instructed to keep the tents up on the sideline only while a player is inside and being evaluated.
Teams will be required to use the tents for sideline concussion evaluations, although players diagnosed with concussions will still be taken to the locker room for further evaluation.
The sideline tents have been used in college football for the last couple of years, and the NFL liked the idea of giving players privacy -- and avoiding scrutiny on sideline medical exams. Those tents will be a common site around the NFL this year.