Michigan’s stay-at-home order has been lifted — Here’s what that might mean for football

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer lifted the state’s coronavirus stay-at-home order on Monday afternoon, which lasted over two months in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

This will allow restaurants to re-open for dine-in services next week — at 50 percent capacity — and eases the restrictions on gatherings, as now outdoor activities of up to 100 people are allowed as long as proper social distancing is maintained. Restrictions has previously been eased in northern parts of the state ahead of Memorial Day weekend, but the regions of the state that made up over 93 percent of the population now join the rest in the “improving” category — or phase four — of Whitmer’s plan.

Close-contact businesses such as gyms, salons, casinos and movie theaters remain closed for the time being, but may reopen as soon as July 4, as Whitmer is hoping the state can move to phase five of reopening the economy.

Obviously, everyone’s question coming to this site will have to do with what this means for beginning to prepare for the college football season. A few separate sources have told MnB that the plan is currently for players to return to campus in mid-June for voluntary workouts. Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh said last week that “mandatory workouts” are expected to resume on July 1.

The current proposed timeline appears to be as follows, courtesy of Ross Dellenger of SI.

The pandemic is not over and we still do not know what the logistics of a season might look like, but the door is at least open for players to get back to work. As is the case with all things around here, we will just have to wait it out and see what happens.