Why Matthew Slater Isn’t Confident In NFL’s Ability To Contain COVID-19

COVID-19 caused quite the disruption to the NFL’s Week 12 slate, and now its impact could be felt for the coming weeks.

If you haven’t heard, and obviously on a much smaller scale to what’s going on around the country, the Baltimore Ravens had a number of players test positive while the Denver Broncos were forced to play without a quarterback due to the league’s protocols.

All told, it had an extensive trickle-down effect on teams throughout the league (just look at all the postponements the Baltimore outbreak caused).

It also seems to have caused New England Patriots captain Matthew Slater to feel a bit uneasy. Slater was asked Monday if he feels confident in the league, and the longtime Patriot didn’t inspire much confidence with his answer.

“I wouldn’t say our level of confidence is very high because I think nationally, we’re seeing a resurgence in the virus, and we haven’t seemed to have found a way to control it nationally. So I don’t think it’s going to be any different within the NFL,” Slater said.

“I mean, certainly, everyone’s trying the best that they can to make sure that we’re safe, but I mean, this virus, you just — we don’t know enough about it. It seems very unpredictable, and obviously it’s surging again,” the Patriots veteran added. “So we’re taking it one day at a time, praying everyone stays safe and healthy, not only within the NFL but around the world. It’s hard to really be confident when this this thing seems to be spreading like wildfire.”

The pandemic hit a little closer to Gillette Stadium on Monday as the Patriots placed Julian Edelman on the team’s COVID-19/reserve list. Edelman was the first member of the Patriots to be placed on the list since mid-October. It’s not yet known if the veteran wideout tested positive, or if he came into contact with someone who did.

The Patriots will try to turn the page, however, with New England traveling to Los Angeles to face the Chargers on Sunday.