Thanks to COVID-19, the NFL is eyeing some new health protocols as it approaches its 2020 season, especially around testing.
During a call with NFL agents Monday, NFLPA medical director Thom Mayer said the league plans to test players around three times a week, according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero. Mayer said there is a 90 percent chance reliable saliva testing will be available before players return to their respective facilities to prepare for the 2020 season, meaning players might not have to take the dreaded full nasal swab test.
NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said the union expects to make progress on overall protocols within the next 30 days or so.
“You can’t fit the virus into football, you have to fit football into the virus,” Mayer said, via MMQB’s Albert Breer. “This is a badass virus.”
Frequent testing will be imperative for any league attempting to compete amidst the pandemic, especially in full-contact sports like football. Several players from the Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys, including star running back Ezekiel Elliot, reportedly have tested positive for the virus as of Monday. And while this is the first major instance of players catching the virus in the NFL, some college football teams have been battling the issue for the last few weeks.
More than a dozen Division I college football players have tested positive for the coronavirus in the last two weeks. This includes as many as five Alabama players, three Auburn players, three Oklahoma State players, three Clemson players and one West Virginia player, according to multiple sources. Some colleges, like Ohio State, are beginning to have players sign a COVID-19 risk waiver before returning to campus for voluntary workouts.
How will the virus impact the NFL once play resumes? Only time will tell.
