Cam Newton and Cole Beasley can’t say they weren’t warned. The NFL has for months signaled that, while it can’t mandate its players get the COVID-19 vaccine, the league can make it as uncomfortable as possible for those who don’t. And within a span of 24 hours, two of the league’s bigger names are learning the consequences of their actions, or more accurately, inactions.
Cam Newton and Cole Beasley forced to miss time
First, New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton (unvaccinated) was sat down for five days for mistakenly taking an unauthorized off-site test. Then, on Monday (August 23), the league’s loudest anti-vaxxer, Cole Beasley, got the same banishment for close contact with a member of the Buffalo Bills’ training staff who tested positive.
Luckily for both teams, these protocol issues occurred during the preseason. The teams might not be so lucky the next time around.
Imagine if Newton, even without a positive test, has to miss a regular or postseason game due to a close contact. Imagine if Beasley catches COVID-19 and spreads it throughout the locker room, causing the Bills to not only have a game postponed but forfeited — which the league insists is a real possibility if there’s an outbreak among unvaccinated teammates.
Other Bills’ players forced to stay away from team facilities
And to be sure, there are other Bills players who haven’t gotten the shot. We know that Gabriel Davis is one of them. He, like Beasley, would not have been barred from team HQ for five days due simply because of a close contact had he been vaccinated. The same goes for Bills linebackers A.J. Klein and Matt Milano, who must also stay out of Buffalo’s team facilities for a mandated five days.
“We know that vaccines are safe and effective and the best step anyone can take to be safe from the coronavirus,” the league said in a statement last month. “The vaccines continue to provide strong immunity against variants of the coronavirus, including the Delta variant. Even with recent increases, new cases remain far below the peak levels of earlier this year.
“Both the CDC and major hospital systems throughout the country have reported that 97 percent or more of the new cases and virtually all hospitalizations are seen in unvaccinated individuals. While there have been ‘breakthrough’ infections — cases where a vaccinated individual has been infected — those cases tend to be mild and people recover from the infection relatively quickly.”
Could vaccinated players get priority for roster spots?
All coaches and high-level NFL staffers who interact with players have been vaccinated. So have the vast majority of NFL players — at a rate, in fact, far higher than Americans in general between the ages of 18-25.
Coaches largely have little to no tolerance for players who don’t get vaccinated, and the prevailing sentiment is a player’s vaccination status will be a determining factor in close roster decisions as teams trim to 80 Tuesday and 53 next week.
We’re seeing the real competitive disadvantage — again, intentionally designed by the league — that comes with players declining to get the shot.
Will it cost Newton his starting job to Mac Jones? Who will get all the first-team snaps this week while Newton is out? Bill Belichick — who was pretty clearly irritated by questions about the situation Tuesday — wouldn’t rule it out.
“The fact that Cam started last year, and he’s here, somebody would have to play better than him,” Belichick said Monday. “Training camp is all about competition.”
But it’s hard to win a competition when you’re barred from practicing — particularly when it’s solely because of a decision you’ve made.
You can usually count on Jerry Jones to articulate what’s on his mind, and he did so with great transparency Tuesday.
Jones, who has been an outspoken advocate for player vaccinations, explained why on 105.3 The Fan:
“Everyone has a right to make their own decisions regarding their health and their body. I believe in that completely — until your decision as to yourself impacts negatively many others. … We have to check ‘I’ at the door and go forward with ‘we.’ Your Dallas Cowboys are doing that.”