R U Ready 4 Some Football

[jbsliverer]

That was a great article, nice to see and obviously one more confirmation of successes of proper Covid mitigation (all forms). I'm sure that the amount of money that is involved with football, that some of the protocols are skirted and ignored or stated as adhered to, but not. There wouldn't be such a stark difference between the Seahawks and all the other teams if a lot wasn't being fudged. On another note;



https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/12/17/taylor-heinicke-washington-covid/
Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke joins covid-19 list
By Nicki Jhabvala
Today at 10:21 a.m. EST|Updated today at 11:02 a.m. EST


Washington Football Team quarterback Taylor Heinicke was placed on the team’s reserve/covid-19 list Friday, two days before the team is set to face the Philadelphia Eagles in a divisional matchup that could determine both teams’ playoff fates. Heinicke joins 21 other Washington players on the covid-19 list, including backup quarterback Kyle Allen, who tested positive for the coronavirus Wednesday.

For reinforcement, Washington signed quarterback Garrett Gilbert off the New England Patriots’ practice squad. The team’s quarterbacks room, which once featured 16-year veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick as a starter, is down to Kyle Shurmur, Gilbert and Jordan Ta’amu, who was added to the practice squad Wednesday.

Heinicke, like many others on Washington’s covid-19 lists, is vaccinated. If he’s asymptomatic, there’s a chance he could test out in time for Sunday’s game. But so far, none of Washington’s players on the covid-19 lists who are vaccinated and asymptomatic have been able to test out early.

The NFL altered its protocols Thursday evening, essentially allowing vaccinated asymptomatic players a chance to test out a day earlier than they would have under previous protocols, which required two negative tests separated by 24 hours. Now, those players can return after two negative tests taken on the same day — or if they meet a certain cycle threshold value, an indirect indicator of how much virus a person is carrying.

If Heinicke has two negative rapid-result tests as late as Sunday morning, he could be back on the field. Per the league’s new and complex protocols, Washington would have to activate him before Saturday at 4 p.m., and if he tests positive on game day, the team would not be able to elevate another player to replace him. The team would just lose the roster spot.

“This season, we’ve been historically running at about 20 percent of players that seem to be testing out in less than 10 days,” Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer said in a conference call with reporters Thursday. “I would expect that number to go up some now. But I just think we’ll have to wait and see.”

According to a person with knowledge of the team’s plans, Washington also plans to take a wait-and-see approach with their quarterbacks, as well as the rest of the roster, which has been decimated by injuries and coronavirus protocols.

The team has just 40 players on its active roster. Of the three quarterbacks currently available, Shurmur has the most experience with the team, after signing to the practice squad in September, after Fitzpatrick suffered a season-ending hip injury. But neither he nor Jordan Ta’amu has played an NFL snap.

Gilbert, a sixth-round pick by the Rams in 2014, spent two seasons with the Carolina Panthers (2017-18), when Ron Rivera was their head coach and Scott Turner their quarterbacks coach. His only game experience with the team, however, was the fourth quarter of Carolina’s Week 17 matchup with the New Orleans Saints. Gilbert replaced Allen, who suffered a shoulder injury in the victory.

Gilbert has bounced around among six teams, including two stints apiece with the Dallas Cowboys and the Patriots. In seven-plus seasons, he has played seven games and has had one start, with the Cowboys last season.

This story will be updated.