Shortly after the New York Jets announced he would be the starter for Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets quarterback Joe Flacco revealed he is not vaccinated against COVID-19.
Flacco appeared in the team’s interview room wearing a mask, which reportedly prompted media to ask him if he was vaccinated — since unvaccinated players must wear masks at all times when they are inside a team facility.
The 36-year-old admitted he is not vaccinated and said he did not want the subject to be distracting toward the team.
“I feel like I definitely have my reasons,” Flacco said, via Andy Vazquez of USA Today. “I honestly probably would like to talk about this topic more than anybody. It’s one of those things you debate with all the time. But I’ve overall felt like it’s more of a distraction than anything. So I feel like to kind of talk about it too much and give you all my beliefs is more of a distraction than anything. I think the most important thing is going and playing a football game.”
Flacco hasn’t started for the Jets this season, who largely have depended on rookie Zach Wilson and backup Mike White. But neither really got the job done, considering the Jets are 2-7. Wilson is still recovering from an injury and White was picked off four times in Week 10.
We’ll see how it goes when things kick off Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
