Ezekiel Elliott and several other NFL players have tested positive for COVID-19 before training camp even begins, and the league's challenge to return safely looks daunting

• Dallas Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliott has tested positive for COVID-19, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapaport.
• Rapaport reported that Elliott was one of "several" players on both the Cowboys and Houston Texans to test positive.
• Elliott's diagnosis comes as the league prepares for training camp in July, with some raising doubts of how feasible it is to follow the NFL's current safety guidelines regarding social distancing.

Dallas Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliott was one of several NFL players to test positive for COVID-19. Elliott's agent, Rocky Arceneaux, confirmed the news to NFL Network's Ian Rapaport on Monday.

—Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 15, 2020

Rapaport reported that "several" players on both the Cowboys and Houston Texans have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days, though none of the players are believed to have been in team facilities.

—Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 15, 2020

The news of the positive cases comes just as the NFL is attempting to figure out how to mitigate the risks of the pandemic for a sport that demands close contact and shared spaces.

Last week, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh called the guidelines the league had put out "impossible" to follow given the logistics of football.

"I've seen all the memos on that, and to be quite honest with you, it's impossible what they're asking us to do. Humanly impossible," Harbaugh said in an interview with 105.7 The Fan, as ESPN transcribed. "So, we're going to do everything we can do. We're going to space, we're going to have masks. But, you know, it's a communication sport. We have to be able to communicate with each other in person. We have to practice."

"I'm pretty sure the huddle is not going to be 6-feet spaced," Harbaugh said. "Are guys going to shower one at a time all day? Are guys going to lift weights one at a time all day? These are things the league and the [players' association] needs to get a handle on and needs to get agreed with some common sense so we can operate in a 13-hour day in training camp that they're giving us and get our work done. That's the one thing, you can tell by my voice, I'm a little frustrated with what I'm hearing there. And I think they need to get that pinned down a little better."

Harbaugh wasn't the only one to raise doubts about the viability of following safety guidelines from the league. Former NFL wide receiver Donte Stallworth also brought up his concerns, suggesting some drastic action be taken by teams before the start of training camp to ensure things don't get worse.

—Donté Stallworth (@DonteStallworth) June 15, 2020

In May, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci told NBC Sports' Peter King that teams that suffered an outbreak of four players testing positive for COVID-19 would have to be prepared to "shut it down" for two weeks, even in the middle of the season.

While Fauci's recommendation is not a hard and fast rule for the league, it is concerning to see that numerous cases are already being found. Further, with more states reporting upticks in positive COVID-19 cases as they begin to reopen, the idea of more players testing positive in the near future is not out of the question.

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