COVID-19 - Pro Football Rumors

NFL Remains Optimistic About 2020 Season

June 20th, 2020 at 2:58pm CST by Zachary Links

Even as the positive tests for COVID-19 continue to pile up, the NFL remains “highly optimistic” about the 2020 season going ahead as planned, Mike Florio of PFT hears. However, the league is less optimistic about having fans in attendance.

A few weeks ago, the NFL said it was planning as though stadiums would be filled to full capacity. As the cases continue to rise around the country, the league doubts that fans will be able to attend, in any fashion. Of course, their views on the matter can change between now and September, based on the fluidity of the virus and government protocols. Meanwhile, the players’ union’s top medical official has advised players to halt all group workouts with teammates (Twitter link).

“Please be advised that it is our consensus medical opinion that in light of the increase in COVID-19 cases in certain states that no players should be engaged in practicing together in private workouts,” wrote Dr. Thom Mayer. “Our goal is to have all players and your families as healthy as possible in the coming months.

“We are working on the best mitigation procedures at team facilities for both training camps and the upcoming season, and believe that it is in the best interest of all players that we advise against any voluntary joint practices before training camp commences.”

Earlier today, we learned that at least two Buccaneers have tested positive for the coronavirus. That comes on the heels of positive tests for one 49ers player, Broncos safety Kareem Jackson, Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliott, and many more.

Multiple Buccaneers Players Test Positive For COVID-19

June 20th, 2020 at 12:42pm CST by Zachary Links

At least two Buccaneers players have tested positive for COVID-19, sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). In keeping with privacy laws, the team has not disclosed the identities of the positive players.

One Bucs assistant also tested positive earlier in the week, raising concerns about viral spread in the organization. The list of positive cases in the NFL seems to be growing larger and larger. COVID-19 has struck one 49ers player, Broncos safety Kareem Jackson, Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliott, and many more – most of whom have remained anonymous.

The growing number of cases has the NFL considering an expansion of its contagious disease containment policy. Roster changes are also likely on the way – the league may move practice squads from 12 to 16 players because of the pandemic. Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci is pushing for a “bubble” strategy, one that would isolate players and NFL personnel from the community at large during the season.

For now, the NFL says it will test players three times per week in advance of training camp and possibly test more during the season. A single-location for games – like what the NBA is doing – is not currently being considered.

49ers Player Tests Positive For COVID-19

June 19th, 2020 at 3:23pm CST by Zachary Links

A 49ers player has tested positive for COVID-19, according to Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). The player’s identity has not been revealed.

The positive player was working out with other NFL players in Nashville, Tennessee. Those who were with the player are getting tested and the players who live elsewhere are working to figure out their travel options. All of the Niners’ quarterbacks were present for the workouts, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears, and “many other skill players” were also on hand. Jimmy Garoppolo, Jalen Hurd, Trent Taylor, Brandon Aiyuk, and Kyle Juszczyk were among those in Tennessee.

In recent days, there have been a number of positive tests in the sports world. In the NFL, that includes Cowboys star Ezekiel Elliott and Broncos safety Kareem Jackson. The positive tests raise the unfortunate reality of a return to sports – no matter what protocols are in place, social distancing is impossible on the field.

The latest figures in the U.S. have projected the COVID-19 death count at nearly 120,000. Meanwhile, Florida and South Carolina set record highs for daily cases on Friday.

Bucs Assistant Coach Tests Positive For COVID-19

June 19th, 2020 at 9:03am CST by Rory Parks

A Buccaneers assistant coach has tested positive for COVID-19, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Pursuant to the club’s safety protocols, two other assistants have been quarantined.

Fortunately, the coach that tested positive was asymptomatic, but as we creep closer to training camp and as more people return to team facilities, reports like these may become more common. The continued refinement of protocols and the expected increase of testing will be key in determining whether the league will be able to push forward with training camp and the regular season as it hopes.

The NFL permitted coaches to return to their respective facilities on June 5, though as Greg Auman of The Athletic points out, Tampa Bay’s coaches did not return until Monday, June 15. Auman also notes that positive tests are especially troublesome for the Bucs’ staff, which features a number of older coaches (including HC Bruce Arians, 67).

Of course, with training camp still over a month away, there is no cause for alarm just yet. Still, Tampa Bay is now the seventh team to have a player or coach diagnosed with COVID-19, which is not surprising, but it does underscore the difficulties that the league and its medical staff are facing.

NFL Considering Expanding Contagious Disease Policy

June 18th, 2020 at 3:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

Barely a month away from the date when the Cowboys and Steelers will open training camps, COVID-19 continues to present a unique threat. The NFL is discussing myriad issues the pandemic has created.

The NFL has a contagious disease policy in place, but Albert Breer of SI.com notes the league is discussing the possibility of expanding it. This comes in a busy week for the NFL on this front. The league has already begun discussions on moving practice squads from 12 to 16 players because of the pandemic. Ezekiel Elliott, Kareem Jackson and at least three other members of the Cowboys and Texans have tested positive for the coronavirus this week, and given the record numbers COVID-19 is producing in many states this week — Texas and Florida among them — many more players certainly run the risk of contracting the virus.

Enacted in 2010, the league’s policy on contagious diseases allows roster exemptions for teams that report at least six cases of a disease. Teams can then receive up to eight exemptions to replace those players, but Breer notes this policy only allows teams to replace those players with members of their own practice squads. These teams, however, can make changes up to four hours prior to kickoff — which is more flexible compared to the policy for roster changes in advance of usual Sunday games. Under normal circumstances, teams can’t change their 53-man rosters beyond 4pm CT Saturday before games.

The league has discussed putting this policy into place full-scale this season, Breer adds. With the coronavirus being a worldwide issue, teams would be unlikely to have to communicate to the NFL the nature of the disease. Testing procedures remain up in the air, with a thrice-per-week format rumored earlier this week. But the NFL has discussed how in-season screening would work, with Breer adding that tests will likely be required before teams set their weekly rosters each Saturday.

While the NFL has not yet taken this to the NFLPA, it appears likely the parties — who are already amid discussions on multiple fronts as training camps approach — will discuss implementing additional roster flexibility to accommodate franchises amid the pandemic.

NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Elliott, Eagles, Hyde

June 18th, 2020 at 11:45am CST by Zachary Links

Ezekiel Elliott is not experiencing any complications after testing positive for COVID-19 (via David Moore of the Dallas Morning News). Assuming Elliott stays healthy and largely symptom-free, that should bode well for the Cowboys‘ star running back in the long haul.

Earlier this week, Elliott was one of four players (two from the Cowboys, two from the Texans) to test positive for the coronavirus. Other players are being tested as a precaution, but no additional positive cases have emerged from either club. Furthermore, quarterback Dak Prescott did not test positive, despite hosting a widely-criticized birthday party earlier this year.

Here’s more from the NFC East:

Eagles head coach Doug Pederson admits that he missed out on his top running back target. “We had the opportunity to possibly grab a player and he slipped through our fingers,” Pederson told WIP (via NJ.com). The Birds were connected to a few veteran RBs this summer, including Carlos Hyde, LeSean McCoy, and Devonta Freeman. Of that group, only Hyde has been signed (by the Seahawks) so Hyde is presumably the player he’s referencing. Freeman still seems to be on their radar, though teams have been warded off by his asking price. They’re open to Shady, too, but, at last check, they have not made him an offer.
Meanwhile, the Eagles are working with the playmakers they already have in-house, including rookie wide receiver Jalen Reagor. They’re planning to groom the former TCU speedster in the mold of fellow deep threat DeSean Jackson, as Jeff Kerr of CBSSports.com writes. “He’s going to come in and he’s going to learn one position and he is going to learn from DeSean Jackson, and learn everything he can,” Pederson said. “Obviously the playbook is extensive and we just have to see what he’s taken from the offseason to training camp, and then once we see his potential and his growth, then we can use him in multiple spots.”
Redskins linebacker Ryan Kerrigan only has one year to go on his deal, but he’s hoping to stay for the duration of his career – however long that might be.
In case you missed it, Sam Robinson reflected on the retirement of Giants quarterback Phil Simms, which played out much differently than Eli Manning‘s sendoff.

Dr. Fauci: NFL Needs “Bubble” Format

June 18th, 2020 at 10:50am CST by Zachary Links

Dr. Anthony Fauci says the NFL needs a “bubble” system in order to go ahead with its season. In other words: keeping players away from the public with constant COVID-19 testing and games played in a central location to limit travel.

“Unless players are essentially in a bubble — insulated from the community and they are tested nearly every day — it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall,” Fauci told CNN (h/t ESPN.com). “If there is a second wave, which is certainly a possibility and which would be complicated by the predictable flu season, football may not happen this year.”

That’s the plan for the NBA and MLS, but the NFL is not currently interested in a one-site setup. Instead, the league plans to rely on frequent testing and contract tracing. For now, they’re aiming to test players three times per week in advance of training camp. Depending on how the pandemic unfolds from here, and how the testing technology progresses, they may adjust the frequency of testing. But, as it stands, the NFL is not interested in consolidating its game locations.

Other changes are likely to come, however. For starters, the league is considering a 16-man practice squad. The NFL already bumped its taxi squad from ten to 12; a group of 16 standbys would give teams additional insurance against more positive player tests.

NFL May Expand Practice Squads To 16 Players

June 18th, 2020 at 8:54am CST by Zachary Links

Recently, the NFL expanded practice squads from ten players to 12. Now, the league may go from a dozen to 16, according to Judy Battista and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter).

The NFLPA would have to sign off on the measure, but it would only make sense for the union to approve it. With four more spots per team, there would be as many as 128 more jobs for players around the league. Meanwhile, teams would have more roster flexibility in the event of positive COVID-19 tests.

Several players have tested positive for the coronavirus amidst the country’s burgeoning second wave. Players from the Texans and Cowboys – including star running back Ezekiel Elliott – tested positive earlier this week, and Broncos safety Kareem Jackson tested positive on Wednesday morning. Even though the NFL has protocols in place to limit the spread of the virus, the league understands that this is an inevitability. You can keep players apart from one another in the locker room, but there is no such thing as social distancing on the football field.

There has also been some talk of expanding the regular season roster. The new collective bargaining agreement already allows for teams to carry 55 players on game days with 48 active players, up from the previous 53-man/46-active roster setup. Further expansion – even a temporary one – would give teams additional insurance if COVID-19 forces players out of action.

Kareem Jackson Tests Positive For COVID-19

June 17th, 2020 at 4:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two days after Ezekiel Elliott and at least three other members of the Cowboys and Texans tested positive for COVID-19, a second Broncos player has done so. Safety Kareem Jackson tested positive for the coronavirus, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

Jackson’s diagnosis follows Von Miller‘s. The latter tested positive in April. Jackson, 32, was tested Wednesday morning, Mike Klis of 9News tweets.

The 10-year NFL veteran began experiencing chills this week, Klis adds. Jackson is not in serious condition and is expected to make a full recovery, Schefter notes. But as the NFL and NFLPA continue to formulate a plan for how the league’s first COVID-19-era training camps will look, players continue to test positive.

Jackson was part of a Denver protest against systemic racism two weeks ago — one featuring several of his Broncos teammates — but the second-year Broncos defender told Klis his doctor informed him that based on the timing of his symptoms he likely contracted the virus this past weekend (Twitter link). Jackson traveled from Denver in recent days, Klis adds.

Miller, Elliott, Jackson and Sean Payton are thus far the most notable NFL figures to test positive for the virus that has infected more than two million Americans and killed more than 119,000. A three-tests-per-week policy has surfaced as a potential course of action this season, but how the league will navigate this virus as its 32 teams — rostering nearly 3,000 players — report to camp has become the obvious central storyline this year.

The Broncos signed Jackson to a three-year, $33MM deal last March and moved the longtime Texans cornerback to safety. He and Justin Simmons emerged as one of the NFL’s best safety tandems last season.

NFL: No Plans For Bubble Setup

June 17th, 2020 at 4:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

This week continues to bring news on the NFL’s plans for training camps and the regular season amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The league and the NFLPA remain in talks on the official setup, but some of the NFL’s stances emerged Wednesday.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway: the NFL has no plans to formulate a bubble scenario that would compare to how the NBA will return. NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills said a bubble setup is impractical, noting instead that the league will rely on frequent testing and contract tracing, via Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). Testing strategies will likely change over the course of the season, as the technology progresses, Sills adds (Twitter link). Thrice-per-week testing has surfaced as a target during the lead-up to training camp.

The NFL nixed off-site training camps this year and eliminated international games from its 2020 schedule. But no rumors have surfaced regarding plans for the league to remove games from home stadiums. The prospect of holding games at central locations surfaced several weeks ago but was deemed a non-starter.

While it could be argued the NFL has a steeper climb toward a return compared to the NBA because of its near-3,000-player (during camp) workforce, and the nature of football itself, several offseason months have passed since the coronavirus made its way into the United States. The league reversing course on a bubble scenario now would be unrealistic.

NFL executive VP of football operations Troy Vincent added that the discussions between the league and the union have included roster sizes, per CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora (on Twitter). Vincent fielded a question pertaining to the practicality of 90-man rosters — allowed throughout the preseason — but possible expansion of 53-man regular-season rosters would seemingly make sense in this virus-changed world. The new CBA does allow for teams to carry 55 players on game days, with 48 being active (up from 46). But those changes were agreed to before COVID-19 entered the equation.

COVID-19 News & Rumors