Buffalo Bills receiver Cole Beasley will miss Sunday's game against the New England Patriots after testing positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. Because Beasley is unvaccinated, he must remain away from his team for at least 10 days.
If the Bills slot receiver were vaccinated, he -- like Patriots wideout Kendrick Bourne -- would have a chance of returning for Sunday's pivotal AFC East showdown. Chances of such an accelerated return are higher now than ever before thanks to the NFL's altering of its return-to-play protocols.
Josh Allen apparently doesn't understand -- or is unaware of -- the difference.
"He's one of our best players," Allen said of Beasley on Wednesday during a virtual news conference. "Whether he was vaccinated or not, if he got it he'd still be out. So, that's kind of my stance on that."
That take is objectively false.
And it was false prior to the introduction of the new protocols, too. Previously, vaccinated players who tested positive had to produce two negative tests separated by 24 hours.
Now, they only must satisfy one of the following three requirements:
(Note: The new protocols place an emphasis on "cycle threshold," a metric that measures the viral load -- essentially, the level of contagiousness -- of a player, with higher numbers being optimal.)
-- Two negative PCR tests that either are negative or produce CT values of 35 or greater.
-- One PCR test that either is negative or produces a CT value of 35 or greater, and a negative Mesa test result taken within 24 hours of the PCR test. (Mesa tests results typically are known within an hour.)
-- Two negative Mesa tests.
It's unclear whether Allen himself is vaccinated. He declined to reveal his vaccination status while fielding questions about it during training camp.
"I'm a big statistics and logical guy," he said of COVID-19 vaccines last April. "So, if statistics show it's the right thing for me to do, I'd do it. Again, I'd go lean the other way, too, if that's what it said."
Beasley, on the other hand, has made his opinions on the matter perfectly clear.
The Patriots and the Bills will kick off Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
