With NFL training camps scheduled to start later this month, the league has already gotten rid of two preseason games for this season. With the unpredictability of COVID-19, however, and the increased risk football players are at to contract the virus, the NFL Players Association is calling for the elimination of the remaining two preseason games.
One NFL head coach, Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Bruce Arians, agrees with this sentiment telling the Tampa Bay Times that he would not be shocked if every player contracted the virus at some point during the 2020 season. “We’ve got to be careful. The players, they’re going to all get sick, that’s for sure. It’s just a matter of how sick they get,” he said.
An NFL Network report detailed that ahead of training camp, the league plans to test all players and staff, as well as their family members and those living with them for COVID-19.
The 67-year-old Arians has not completed an entire season as a head coach without a visit to the hospital, and is a three-time cancer survivor, putting him at an increased risk of contracting the virus. He also noted on Monday, that given his advanced age and previous health conditions, he has forced himself to rethink how he coaches compared to a regular season. “I got to be real careful. I’ll probably double with a mask and a (face) shield. You know, because l already had my scare out there (in Arizona) once a couple of years ago. For me personally, I’ve got a plan and I just have to be smart enough to stay with it.”
