The NFL is going to have to get comfortable living with COVID-19 — or risk losing a season to the Winter of Omicron. There’s no in-between. This week’s tidal wave of positive tests — a record 36 on Monday alone — is the canary in the coal mine of a nation that’s surely way more infected than the population at large.
NFL dealing with a new COVID-19 reality
The NFL isn’t sicker than the rest of America. Instead, it’s probably the opposite, considering that the NFL’s vaccination rate far outpaces the American population.
But the immunity provided by the original shots wanes at around six months, and that’s why there’s been a flood of positive tests, largely from players with mild or no symptoms.
While vaccinated people still have strong protection against severe illness and death even when their antibodies wane, they are now getting infected at much higher rates and risk passing it on to others.
The league, of course, knows all of this. That’s why it has mandated booster shots before the end of the month for employees with the closest contact with players, who have no vaccine mandate thanks to their union. Mask mandates could soon return as well.
Cleveland Browns lose eight players to positive tests
Teams like the Cleveland Browns — who had eight players, including Jarvis Landry, go on the reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday — are holding remote meetings. Soon, those protocols will likely become league-wide. And even with the surging amount of cases, the NFL has shown no inclination to postpone games — yet. But even with a nearly 70-man roster, it’s quite conceivable that there are enough positive cases within a locker room to jeopardize games and potentially even a February 13 Super Bowl.
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It takes fresh thinking to prevent that doomsday scenario. What I’m proposing is bold. And to some, it might seem reckless. But it surely has the support of the vast majority of players who are testing positive and missing games with zero symptoms. If the country isn’t shutting down for this latest round of sickness, which early evidence suggests is not causing nearly the severe illness and death as previous surges, thanks to a mutating virus and the efficacy of vaccines, the NFL shouldn’t either.
Advice for the NFL
Mandate vaccines for everyone. The vast majority of players already received the jab. The obstinance of the few shouldn’t be enough to jeopardize the system. Those who refuse are welcome to collect the rest of their 2021 salary and watch December, January, and February games from home.
And then: Don’t test. Or, if you do, don’t forbid those who pop positive from practicing and playing if they’re asymptomatic. Send them home for a couple of days of monitoring, and if their condition doesn’t worsen, welcome them back to practice, but nothing else. We don’t test for the flu or the common cold, and for those who are fully vaccinated, COVID-19 isn’t any more dangerous. The NFL should have protocols that reflect that.
