NFL won’t rule out moving games from coronavirus hot spots (like Miami)
The NFL is considering building a playoff bubble and will not rule out moving games from COVID-19 hot spots, according to league officials who briefed reporters during a national conference call Wednesday.
South Florida for weeks has had the highest concentration of COVID-19 cases of all 30 NFL markets, although the gap between Miami and Las Vegas, the league’s second-hottest spot, has closed in recent weeks.
The Dolphins are determined to play their eight home games at Hard Rock Stadium this fall, and hope to do so in front of fans. But if the public health situation here gets markedly worse, it’s possible the league will change locations.
The Miami Marlins’ roster-crippling outbreak was caused by players venturing out of their rooms and hotel on the road, and a similar issue could arise when football games begin.
“We’re going to have to be flexible and adaptable,” said Dr. Allen Sills, the league’s chief medical officer. “I think that’s something we’ll continue to track and monitor. If [this virus has] taught us anything, projecting three four weeks down the road is a hazardous business.”
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez recently said the Dolphins still want to allow fans to attend their games this fall if it’s safe (albeit at a drastically reduced capacity), but he is not yet ready to sign off on the idea. The Dolphins’ first home game is in a month.
The Dolphins currently have two players on the league’s reserve/COVID-19 list: cornerback Xavien Howard and linebacker Sam Eguavoen, who went on the list Wednesday.
As for a postseason bubble, Troy Vincent, the league’s executive vice president of football operations, said Wednesday that Saints coach Sean Payton pitched the idea, and it’s under consideration.
However, players would have to agree to it voluntarily. The NBA, MLS and NHL have had much more success keeping their season on schedule with the bubble approach than baseball has without it.
Vincent also acknowledged that contingencies are being drawn up for how the postseason field will be decided if there are an uneven number of games played due to COVID-19 cancellations.
One more bit of news: Based on guidance from the Centers of Disease Control, players, coaches or staff who caught COVID-19 and have since recovered and remain asymptomatic will get a 90-day testing holiday, because their antibodies should ward off an infection.
The league still instructs everyone, regardless of their medical history, to wear proper PPE and practice social distancing.
The NFL has administered more than 42,000 tests since late July with a “really low rate of positives,” Sills said, and the “overwhelming majority” of those have been unconfirmed positives.
▪ A day after they carted linebacker Vince Biegel off the field with a significant Achilles’ tendon injury, the Dolphins placed Biegel on injured reserve.
This story was originally published August 19, 2020 at 3:48 PM.
