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NFL and Covid Issues - Initially Asked in Shark Pool To Keep it 100% NFL (3 Viewers)

I'm hardly one to talk, because I've thrown just about every drug known to man into this body at one point, but I'm baffled by the amount of vaccine skepticism there is in the United States. Beasley is really determined to defend himself about this. He's taken to Twitter quite extensively. Of course, the journalists/writers are killing him for it, but he's plugging away, in my opinion wrongheadedly, but stalwartly defending his choice nonetheless.

 
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Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer said increasing COVID-19 vaccination levels "has become a competitive issue for teams and players alike" in the NFL.

The league and the player's union last week released protocols for vaccinated and unvaccinated players in 2021, drawing the ire of Bills WR Cole Beasley, who has threatened to retire to protest the vaccine. Players who refuse vaccination will be tested for the virus every day, required to wear masks in team facilities, have travel restrictions, and may not leave the team's hotel during road games -- all rules implemented during the 2020 season designed to stop the spread of COVID-19. Breer said negotiations between the NFL and player's union "weren’t to create two classes of players. More so, it was to upgrade rules for those who’ve been vaccinated." Vaccination rates have climbed in recent weeks, from around 30 percent to 55 percent of players who have had at least one jab, per Breer. Teams with large swaths of unvaccinated players could struggle through another season of contact tracing and other measures that made 2020 a massively difficult season.

RELATED: 

Cole Beasley

SOURCE: SI.com 

Jun 21, 2021, 8:57 AM ET
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Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported that teams are allowed to challenge whether a COVID-19 infection is football related for players who haven’t been vaccinated.

It would essentially allow for teams to keep game checks away from those players who were not vaccinated and diagnosed with COVID-19. It's another incentive for players to get vaccinated as the NFL continues making it impossible for those who do not to function normally both at team's facilities and on the road. Any other significant announcements will likely prompt a fight that would be resolved in arbitration.

SOURCE: Pro Football Talk on Twitter

Jun 24, 2021, 10:45 AM ET
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ESPN's Adam Schefter reports 65 percent of NFL players have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot.

Schefter added "that’s approximately the same percent as rest of the country," and higher if only comparing people in the age 25-39 range. About 46 percent of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated. It's good news for coaches, players, and fans who desire a more normal training camp and regular season after 2020's COVID chaos. Some NFL coaches have brought in medical experts to talk to players about getting vaccinated against COVID-19, and the league and player's union have released protocols for players who head into training camp unvaccinated. These rules -- including daily testing and restrictions on travel -- have drawn the ire of some players, most notably Bills WR Cole Beasley, who has threatened to retire rather than vaccinate himself against the virus. The continuation of strict COVID protocols will likely entice more players to sign up for the vaccine in the coming weeks. 

SOURCE: Adam Schefter on Twitter 

Jun 25, 2021, 11:40 AM ET
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Faust said:
Seven NFL teams above 85 percent vaccination threshold with two weeks until training camp
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I tried to research this but could only find protocols for preseason which state if a team is over 85% vaccination they only need to get one test every 14 days and that can be on any day of the week they decide to do it and teams under 85% have to get tested every day.

So I wanted to ask does anyone know if this policy, 14 days vs daily testing, is for the actual season or if it's not been set as of yet?

 
The stats right now are less important. The real numbers will come after cutdowns from 90 players to the 53 players.  Who knows if the unvaccinated are potential keepers or potential cuts. Those percentages could change dramatically after the cuts.  The fact the league or teams don't seem too concerned leads me to think the final cut numbers should be good.     

 
Godsbrother said:
Last season was a disaster.   Bye weeks being shifted around, playing games on Wednesdays, shorthanded teams, teams having to play 3 games in 12 days, etc.

It sucked.  
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They got every game in though. They definitely made mistakes that could have been avoided but it was hardly a disaster. Now they have more than half the players vaccinated and are still most likely enforcing their distancing protocols. Can't see how it would be worse. 

 
Insein said:
They got every game in though. They definitely made mistakes that could have been avoided but it was hardly a disaster. Now they have more than half the players vaccinated and are still most likely enforcing their distancing protocols. Can't see how it would be worse. 
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Some of the games were played with teams with depleted rosters and you can't adequately recover/prepare when you have to play 3 games in 12 days.  It was impressive they got all games in but some of those games were a joke.

I agree that it likely won't be worse but the problem is that even vaccinated players/coaches can test covid-positive.  If they use the same protocols as last season then we might be back to significant players missing games and/or whole games being postponed.

 
Godsbrother said:
Some of the games were played with teams with depleted rosters and you can't adequately recover/prepare when you have to play 3 games in 12 days.  It was impressive they got all games in but some of those games were a joke.

I agree that it likely won't be worse but the problem is that even vaccinated players/coaches can test covid-positive.  If they use the same protocols as last season then we might be back to significant players missing games and/or whole games being postponed.
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Unless they stop testing altogether, this is still going to be a risk even if all players are vaccinated as we've seen with the All vaccinated concerts and cruises. 

 
jps said:
The stats right now are less important. The real numbers will come after cutdowns from 90 players to the 53 players.  Who knows if the unvaccinated are potential keepers or potential cuts. Those percentages could change dramatically after the cuts.  The fact the league or teams don't seem too concerned leads me to think the final cut numbers should be good.     
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If you are a borderline cut candidate and choose not to get vaccinated you are for sure decreasing your odds of making the team. But saying that I don't expect the percentages to change a great deal because I'm just guessing that majority of those who choose to not get vaccinated feel more secure with their roster position.

As for the bolded comment what leads you to say that?

All I'll add is I keep a running list of teams that are announced to be over 85% and a list of the teams reported to be well under next to my cheat sheet when I draft and I use it for close calls.

 
Insein said:
Unless they stop testing altogether, this is still going to be a risk even if all players are vaccinated as we've seen with the All vaccinated concerts and cruises. 
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Agreed but if all players and staff were vaccinated the risk would be less but we know that happening.

 
Godsbrother said:
  If they use the same protocols as last season then we might be back to significant players missing games and/or whole games being postponed.
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This is why I asked a question earlier if anyone had seen the NFL announce regular season protocols. If it's like pre-season vaccinated players only have to get tested once every 14 days and can be whatever day of the week they choose.

My guess is team would choose early in the week to do the once every 14 day test for players in order to get it out of the way, be able to prepare all week should a player be out  out and possibly to have the player ready to play Sunday should the protocol be you can return in 5 days if non-symptomatic. This alone should heavily reduce vaccinated players missing games and possibly all but eliminate late week surprise for players needing to miss, again if they are vaccinated.

The flip side is this will heavily increase the odds that COVID positive players are suiting up but on the whole if the pre-season protocols are similar to the regular season protocols vaccinated players are going to have far less likely odds of missing games this year.

 
The NFL just informed clubs that if a game cannot be rescheduled during the 18-week season in 2021 due to a COVID outbreak among unvaccinated players, the team with the outbreak will FORFEIT and be credited with a loss for playoff seeding, per sources.
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"If a game is cancelled and cannot be rescheduled within the current 18-week scheduled due to a Covid outbreak, neither team’s players will receive their weekly paragraph 5 salary." You read that right: NOBODY GETS PAID.
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We have to assume the NFLPA agreed to this.  If it didn't, the NFL has a problem.  If it did, any affected players probably have almost no legal recourse.

 
Skipdog77 said:
They've got a business to protect. I don't blame them. 
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That's what it comes down to. 

'This is what we require to play.'

There is a lot of money, and a lot of people counting on money from each game played. The league thinks this is the best way to ensure games happen. Everyone is allowed to make decisions that they believe is for the best for themselves and their family. 

The NFL is making decisions based on what they think is best for themselves and their family. 

Probably going to be some collateral damage here, but I don't know how they could avoid it. 

 
massraider said:
That's what it comes down to. 

'This is what we require to play.'

There is a lot of money, and a lot of people counting on money from each game played. The league thinks this is the best way to ensure games happen. Everyone is allowed to make decisions that they believe is for the best for themselves and their family. 

The NFL is making decisions based on what they think is best for themselves and their family. 

Probably going to be some collateral damage here, but I don't know how they could avoid it. 
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They're savages.

They were with the CTE scandal and they are once again here.

 
It seems like somewhat of a hornet's nest.  Obviously, everyone is doing their best to protect a multi-billion $ business.

"If a club cannot play due to a Covid spike in vaccinated individuals, we will attempt to minimize the competitive and economic burden on both participating teams."
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Essentially, if an outbreak is tied to unvaccinated players/staff, the game is forfeited and no one (on either team) gets paid.  However, if the Covid outbreak is tied to vaccinated players/staff, the NFL will give everyone a pass.

 
Don't know how this one slipped by the players association. 
So, in essence, if the Eagles played the Cowboys,  and 10 Cowboys players came down with Covid, they would forfeit,  but BOTH  teams would lose their game checks. Seems pretty shady to me. The opposing team did nothing wrong, but they lose money? Ridiculous. 

 
Deranged Hermit said:
Don't know how this one slipped by the players association. 
So, in essence, if the Eagles played the Cowboys,  and 10 Cowboys players came down with Covid, they would forfeit,  but BOTH  teams would lose their game checks. Seems pretty shady to me. The opposing team did nothing wrong, but they lose money? Ridiculous. 
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Innocent people usually get punished for the crimes/misdeeds/idiocy of others. It happens.

 
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Deranged Hermit said:
Don't know how this one slipped by the players association. 
So, in essence, if the Eagles played the Cowboys,  and 10 Cowboys players came down with Covid, they would forfeit,  but BOTH  teams would lose their game checks. Seems pretty shady to me. The opposing team did nothing wrong, but they lose money? Ridiculous. 
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Yeah, that sort of seems like a money-grab on the owners' part, PARTICULARLY the owners who have a vaccinated squad and win from a forfeit.  Why in the hell wouldn't those owners reward behavior (vaccination) that protects the business?

 
Deranged Hermit said:
Yup, but when you're talking about millions of dollars lost, I can guarantee there will be copious amounts of lawsuits. 
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I think there are really only two possibilities here - either the NFLPA agreed to this, which seems extremely likely, or the NFL is taking a huge risk. As I noted earlier, if the NFLPA agreed to it, the players have very limited legal recourse.  I think their only claim would have to be based on unfair labor practices, fraud, etc.  I disagree with the notion this is something that "slipped by" them.  Its possible, yes - but seems to me this was a decision they made together in the interests of protecting the golden goose.

 
Deranged Hermit said:
So, in essence, if the Eagles played the Cowboys,  and 10 Cowboys players came down with Covid, they would forfeit,  but BOTH  teams would lose their game checks. Seems pretty shady to me. The opposing team did nothing wrong, but they lose money? Ridiculous. 
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But only if the Cowboys players / staff were unvaccinated.  If they have 100% vaccination status, or if the outbreak can't be tied to unvaccinated players/staff, the NFL said it "will attempt to minimize the competitive and economic burden on both participating teams."  I read this to mean no forfeit, no fine.  Obviously, a vaccinated individual can still catch the virus and test positive, so the NFL is saying - "we'll give you a pass if your entire team/staff is vaxed, but if they aren't, we're bringing the hammer down on you and others."  To me, its a big hammer.

 
CletiusMaximus said:
I think there are really only two possibilities here - either the NFLPA agreed to this, which seems extremely likely, or the NFL is taking a huge risk. As I noted earlier, if the NFLPA agreed to it, the players have very limited legal recourse.  I think their only claim would have to be based on unfair labor practices, fraud, etc.  I disagree with the notion this is something that "slipped by" them.  Its possible, yes - but seems to me this was a decision they made together in the interests of protecting the golden goose.
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Seems likely they will agree. Players and coaches will not want their teammates to be unvaccinated and causing their team game losses and $ losses? Not to mention making everyone on the team having to have additional safety protocols daily for their lack of care.

 
NFL basically saying that any team with issues forfeits the game. 

They aren’t adding games to the season. 

in that light, I will be going over my final rankings, & googling the players I’m most interested in to determine if they are anti-vaccine.

if they aren’t vaccinated. I may not draft them. 
 

ETA: I just heard the quote from DeAndre Hopkins, and now I am glad that I traded him in dynasty, and I will not be drafting him and re-draft.

because even being adjacent to a positive tested player or person means they may miss a week or two.

 
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Hot Sauce Guy said:
NFL basically saying that any team with issues forfeits the game. 

They aren’t adding games to the season. 

in that light, I will be going over my final rankings, & googling the players I’m most interested in if they are anti-vaccine.

if they aren’t vaccinated. I may not draft them. 
 

ETA: I just heard the quote from DeAndre Hopkins, and now I am glad that I traded him and dynasty and I will not be drafting him and re-draft.

because even being adjacent to a positive tested player or person means they may miss a week or two.
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From the NFL memo issued today - Vaccinated individuals who test positive and are asymptomatic can return to duty after two negative tests 24 hours apart. Unvaccinated individuals are subject to a mandatory 10-day isolation period.

 
Here's my cynical view of all this. NFL wanted to come out and take a hardline on vaccine status to make them look like they're doing something. However, the language is very specifically worded so that games can be rescheduled at the commissioner's discretion AND teams will not be punished if an outbreak occurs amongst vaccinated players. 

So to me, this is just for show. Games will be rescheduled if needed. The lawsuits alone from taking away BOTH teams salaries that have been agreed upon before Covid ever was a thing is not an angle I think the NFL wants to go down. The players will play along until the first team that loses a weeks pay due to a forfeiture. Then you're going to have a revolt. I can't see Aaron Rodgers foregoing a $2.05m paycheck because the other team had to forfeit. 

 
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People getting caught up on the missed paycheck thing, but I thought I read the NFLPA was on board with this, and last year as well. I don't think that is a major issue, and I sure don't think any player wold have much luck suing anyone.  I dunno about fair or unfair, but I think that particular part of the story 'is what it is' (I hate that phrase).  

It could get real interesting soon, as teams make roster decisions all summer long. Every unvaccinated player that get released is a potential PR headache.

DeAndre Hopkins is on Twitter right now giving his dynasty owners heartburn.  

 
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