COVID 19 infects several NFL personnel, players; Games rescheduled, players benched

Jake Gay, Reporter

     Not even two months into the regular season covid tests have come back positive among some players in the NFL. These players include Ezekiel Elliott who confirmed his diagnosis on June 15, 2020. The running backs described his symptoms by noting, “I would say I had maybe one or two days where I felt symptoms, and even then, it wasn’t too bad. I had a cough and a little bit of shortness of breath, “Due to the timing of the prognosis Elliott was able to quarantine and it did not affect his obligations to the Dallas Cowboys. 

     The same can not be said for former NFL MVP and starting New England quarterback Cam Newton. Newton tested positive before week 4 of the regular season (per Adam Schefter of ESPN) ahead of the scheduled game against defending champions The Kansas City Chiefs. A New England spokesperson made a statement following the diagnosis detailing that “Late last night, we received notice that a Patriots player tested positive for COVID-19.” 

     The scheduled game continued as planned with The Patriots playing backup Brain Hoyer. Ultimately, Kansas City defeated the Patriots 26-10.

     Senior Austin Bach commented, “ the NFL has done a relatively good job keeping cases to a minimum although people will compare them to the NBA and NHL which are not even fair comparisons because those two leagues are in bubbles.”

    In a separate incident, on October 8th The NFL announced that the scheduled game for October the 11th between the Tennessee Titans and the Buffalo Bills had been postponed until the following Tuesday (October 13th). The postponement came after a presumed case of covid among the teams (The name of the infected was not released). There has been some outcry around the league for the response by the NFL. Bills’ safety Micah Hyde commented that “We all have social media, we know (they had guys who tested positive). But we’re not hearing anything from the league or anything like that.” 

     Even though around the league, the playing of the game was in question for the entire week,

the game was played with the same safety precautions that have been in place all season.    The rest of the season remains under close supervision as some teams around the league have started to let some fans watch the games from the stands. Notably, the Baltimore Ravens have started to let the family members of players and coaches attend the game in person as of the prime time week 3 game against the rival Kansas City Chiefs.