Opinion | NFL has to rethink COVID-19 strategy
Joe Perrino, Sports Editor
The starting quarterback for the NFL’s Denver Broncos completed just one of his nine total pass attempts on Nov. 29. When the dust cleared, he’d thrown for 13 yards – and tossed two interceptions.
That’s pretty bad.
The reason for such a horrendous performance, however, wasn’t because of an off day or an injury. It was because he was literally listed on the practice squad roster as a wide receiver – not a quarterback – just a few days prior.
That’s right, a guy named Kendall Hinton took over as Denver’s starting quarterback after every single quarterback on their roster was placed on the COVID-19 list prior to their Nov. 29 matchup against the New Orleans Saints.
OK, yes, that’s kind of funny. But the fact that the Broncos literally had to play a game without a quarterback, the most important position in football, raises some issues regarding player safety across the NFL.
It seems like the people running the league (commissioner Roger Goodell, owners and so on) don’t care about the health of the league’s players or even a competitive balance of play. The Broncos, despite having those positive cases at quarterback, were cleared to return to practice and play that week. How the heck were they supposed to have a chance to win?
Spoiler alert: it didn’t end up being a cute underdog story. The Broncos got demolished, 31-3. And this problem doesn’t stop there.
The only good game scheduled to be played on Thanksgiving, a matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, was pushed back all the way to Dec. 2 because the Ravens’ star quarterback Lamar Jackson and a group of other players tested positive.
From a fan’s perspective, this pissed me off. Rather than a primetime Ravens-Steelers contest, I was stuck watching two garbage games between bad teams instead of a hard-fought divisional game. Not only is the NFL potentially killing its players, but it’s killing its own appeal in the process. There’s no upside here.
I know the sports industry is a business and it’s even more difficult at the moment for the league to make money, but there needs to be a line drawn. Players need to have a say in scheduling, as they are the ones making money for billionaire executives.
What will have to happen for there to be change? Will a player have to die from COVID-19? Will that even be enough?
As we approach the end of 2020, I sit here writing this and feel the cool, outside air brushing across my face. I know there will be more frequent and severe outbreaks as it continues to get colder and colder in the depths of winter. At that point, when the virus reaches an inevitable peak, how will the NFL act?
The playoffs will be underway, meaning they will be in the most profitable period of their season. Teams will be forced to travel to cold areas throughout the country. Assuming one of those teams has 20-plus cases like the Ravens did, will they continue to postpone games, or will they make those teams pull talent from their practice squad – risking a poor on-field product for all the world to witness?
Only time will tell.