Cooper, who is unvaccinated, was restricted from the team facility and from playing any games for ten days after his positive test. However, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio raises an interesting point regarding whether the NFL may change its stance on allowing unvaccinated players who test positive to play.
As Florio writes:
The virus transmits much more easily indoors. The NFL has believed from the outset of the pandemic that it’s extremely difficult if not impossible for a player to transfer enough virus to another player in an open-air setting, or in a dome with state-of-the-art ventilation driven by the possibility of an aerosolized terrorist attack.
At what point will the NFL allow players who test positive but who have no symptoms to play? At what point will the NFL allows players who test positive and who have symptoms to play?
Every year, players play with a cold. They play with the flu. They do it because the rules don’t prohibit it. When, then, will the NFL’s COVID protocols evolve to a similar point?