Skip to main content

New on SI: Report: NFL Adds Weekly Testing for Vaccinated Players to COVID-19 Protocols

Fully vaccinated players will now undergo weekly COVID-19 testing during the 2021 season, per the NFL's latest protocols.

Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports

The NFL and NFLPA have agreed to updated COVID-19 protocols for the 2021 season, according to the NFL Network's

Tom Pelissero.

The updated protocols include weekly testing for fully vaccinated players and staff, per Pelissero. Vaccinated players can reportedly opt in to taking a voluntary second test each week, while unvaccinated players will reportedly be required to undergo a COVID-19 test every day at the club facility. 

Unvaccinated players will not be required to wear masks at outdoor practices or walkthroughs, though masks will still be required indoors. All team medical staff, strength and conditioning coaches and equipment staff will be required to wear masks.

The NFL did not make any update to its COVID-19 close-contact protocols, per Pelissero. Fully vaccinated individuals will not be designated high-risk close contacts, and only unvaccinated players are at risk of missing games without a positive test.

Numerous notable players have been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list in recent days, including Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill and Colts quarterback Carson Wentz. 

More NFL Coverage:

• Tom Brady's Forgotten Rookie Year
• Predicting Every Game of the 2021 Season
• How Derrick Henry Handles a Throwback Workload
• An Early Look at the 2022 NFL Quarterback Carousel

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

New on SI: NFL Kickers Have Historically Bad Week With Record-Tying 12 Missed PATs

It's been a historically bad week for NFL kickers, with 12 missed PATs through the conclusion of Sunday's evening games. View the original article to see embedded media. Kickers in many ways have a thankless job. Make a kick, and often times nobody really cares. Miss one? Well, people won't stop bringing it up. The 2021 season has already established a new high-water mark in kicking with Ravens kicker Justin Tucker's NFL record-setting 66-yard field goal to beat the Lions in Week 3. Two weeks later, though, we might have established a new low point. Prior to kickoff on Sunday Night Football  between the Bills and Chiefs, kickers had missed a whopping 12 extra points in Week 5. That ties the league's Super Bowl era record set in Week 11 during the 2016 season, the year after the NFL moved PAT's back to the 15-yard line. Rams kicker Matt Gay got the train rolling on Thursday when he missed his first PAT attempt of the game in the third quarter. That set a ...
Read more

New on SI: Buffalo Bills Approved for Fans at Home Playoff Games

The Bills are set to host a wild card playoff game for the first time in 25 years. Get ready, Bills Mafia: Your time has come. A week ahead of the wild card round, New York state has approved a capacity of 6,772 fans for the Buffalo Bills, the team announced Wednesday . The Bills currently hold the No. 2 seed in the AFC, and will host a playoff game for at least the first round. The wild card round will mark the first time in 25 years that Buffalo has hosted a playoff game. All fans who attend the game will be required to receive a negative COVID-19 test through the league's testing partner, Bioreference Laboratories, in order to be admitted into the game. Tickets will be made available to season ticket holders who opted into buying tickets earlier this year. Fans will also be required to pay for their own COVID-19 test, which costs $63. The Bills have thrived at home this season despite the absence of their rowdy fans, with a 6-1 home record. They are one of five teams with ...
Read more

New on SI: Brett Favre on Aaron Rodgers' Future in Green Bay: 'I Think That Aaron Will Finish Somewhere Else'

Former Packers great Brett Favre said Aaron Rodgers was surprised by Green Bay's decision to draft Jordan Love. Former Packers legend Brett Favre believes that star quarterback Aaron Rodgers won't finish his career in Green Bay. "I think he will play somewhere else," the three-time MVP said Wednesday on the Rich Eisen Show. Favre said he was "very surprised" about the Packers' decision to select Utah State QB Jordan Love No. 26 overall in the 2020 NFL draft last Thursday, noting that the team's decision not to draft "any weapons that can help immediately" sends a "disrespect message" to the team's current quarterback. "He has every right to feel disrespected, if he is," Favre said of Rodgers. The former Packers great said he had talked recently with Rodgers.  "Let's just say [Rodgers is] surprised that they went in that direction," Favre explained. "It's not his job to mentor Jordan Lo...
Read more