In another unpredictable season, COVID’s impact reemerges as Dolphins pursue playoffs
Early Monday afternoon, when discussing the Dolphins’ uptick in COVID-19 cases, the magnitude of which had not yet been realized, coach Brian Flores spoke and added a caveat any reasonable person would understand.
At the time, only running backs Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed were on the reserve/COVID-19 list as a result of the team’s first positive tests among players in three months. Flores, when asked about his concern the two weren’t isolated cases, said “there’s no feeling” a cluster or outbreak was on the horizon.
“But again,” he continued, “I also don’t have a crystal ball here.”
Each NFL season comes with a level of unpredictability that makes the product so enticing to millions of fans. Last season, the coronavirus pandemic added another layer, albeit frustrating, sidelining players and coaches for key games after positive tests and close contacts.
With player vaccinations levels leaguewide above 90 percent, the NFL went three-quarters of the 2021 season without any major coronavirus disruptions. Now, the surging Omicron variant, which doesn’t produce symptoms as serious as other strains but is more contagious, has once against challenged the league with the start of the playoffs about a month away.
In the past week-plus, six Dolphins have been sidelined by coronavirus protocols, part of more than 100 players who have tested positive for the virus this week. Gaskin and Ahmed, who tested positive late last week, returned to practice Friday and are eligible to play in Sunday’s home game against the New York Jets, a must-win game for the 6-7 Dolphins, seeking to keep pace for an AFC wild-card spot.
The NFL on Friday announced three Week 15 games — Raiders-Browns, Seahawks-Rams and Washington-Eagles — have been rescheduled “based on medical advice and after discussion with the [NFL Players Association] as we are seeing a new, highly transmissible form of the virus this week resulting in a substantial increase in cases across the league.”
The virus hasn’t hit the Dolphins as hard as Washington, Cleveland or Los Angeles, all of whom at one point this week have had at least 20 players sidelined by protocols, but their own absences aren’t negligible.
Players sidelined this week included rookie wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, who leads the team in all major receiving categories, rookie safety Jevon Holland, a versatile player in the secondary, as well as running backs Phillip Lindsay and Gerrid Doaks.
The Dolphins on Saturday activated Holland from the reserve/COVID-19 list and he is eligible to play but listed as questionable with a non-injury related illness. Waddle wasn’t activated from the list and will miss his first game of the season.
Flores said the team was informed of Waddle’s positive test in the middle of meetings Thursday, already being held remotely as part of the NFL’s return to more strict protocols, forcing the coaching staff to adjust “on the fly.”
“I think we’ve been doing a great job as a group of just having the next guy up,” said wide receiver Albert Wilson, who opted out last season because of coronavirus concerns. “I honestly don’t think we’ve played with all the [wide receivers] yet this year. So, we’ve been doing a great job of, whoever number they call, just being in the right spot and doing what they need to do.”
Along with Holland’s athletic ability to play anywhere on the field, good communication will be key for players such as Brandon Jones and Eric Rowe if Holland, who missed the entire week of practice, cannot suit up.
“Obviously that starts with the safety position and linebacker position,” Flores said of communication on defense. “Those are really the signal-callers on defense.”
In the light of the large increase in cases, the majority of which came from vaccinated players and produced mild symptoms, if any, the NFL on Saturday overhauled its previous testing policy, which mandated vaccinated players test weekly. Now, players who have received the shot will only be tested if they report symptoms, are a close contact with someone who tested positive, voluntarily want to be tested and in some cases, for spot testing.
The reversal followed changes put in place earlier in the week, such as the return of more strict coronavirus protocols in team facilities and return-to-play policies that could allow fully vaccinated, asymptomatic players to return sooner than the previous guidelines. Up until this week, an individual had to return two negative tests at least 24 hours apart before returning to team activities.
The virus’ impact on a tightly contested playoff race can’t be understated. The Browns, Rams and Washington, the three teams affected the most by the surge, are all either vying for a division title or wild-card spot. In the case of Cleveland, both starting quarterback Baker Mayfield and backup Case Keenum could miss the team’s game, which was moved to Monday night.
And then there’s the Dolphins, who after a 1-7 start are just one game back of the seventh and final AFC wild-card spot. No team in NFL history has made the playoffs after winning just one of their first eight games, but a win against a hapless divisional rival would get the Dolphins even closer to those postseason aspirations.
And now, the team might have to do it without two promising rookies that have played pivotal roles in its midseason turnaround.
It’s a situation that’s no different from countless teams in the NFL but just the latest test for a group that has overcome its own share of adversity on the field.
“I think this is kind of leaguewide, with what’s going on from a COVID standpoint,” Flores said. “There’s a game that was played [Thursday night], games that are upcoming. I think we’ve got to compartmentalize and we know that’s going on, just as a lot of things are going on. Individually, there’s always something going on and when you get into the building, you really focus on the task at hand. That meeting, that practice, that walk-through. The Jets and their team, which, they gave us a lot of problems the last time we saw them. Offensively, defensively, and in the kicking game. We expect that type of game again. That’s what we’re preparing for, a 60-minute dogfight against a divisional opponent. That’s what we’re preparing for.”
This story was originally published December 17, 2021 at 5:42 PM.
