The Bears put nose tackle Eddie Goldman, long snapper Patrick Scales, linebacker Christian Jones and tackle Elijah Wilkinson on the reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday. They remained out Thursday morning, with Bears coach Matt Nagy saying he hopes that there will be no other positive tests.
Wilkinson is not vaccinated; it’s unclear if the other three are, though presumably they would not have been tested Tuesday had they been vaccinated.
“I think it’s just for all of us to understand we’re still going through this thing,” Nagy said. “There’s, you know, gotta be great communication through all of it. And then again, this isn’t just a football thing this is a worldwide thing that I think we gotta all recognize is still going pretty good.”
The NFL has two different sets of rules for players depending on their vaccination status. Vaccinated players who test positive can return any time after two negative tests, while unvaccinated players must isolate for 10 days. Vaccinated players don’t have to isolate if they are ruled a high-risk close contact of someone who is infected, while unvaccinated players must isolate for five days after a close contact.
Bears quarterback coach John DeFilippo, who is vaccinated, quarantined for the first five days of camp because of the coronavirus but returned earlier this week. Nagy stressed that “we are not back to 2019” when it comes to protocols.
“Until everybody says it’s normal and there are going to be no issues, then the guys have to expect that,” Nagy said. “On the front end, we have to learn what the rules are per the league of fully vaccinated vs. non-vaccinated and how that works. We’re all kind of learning but I think our guys have been great so far, I really do. They are following all the rules and they are doing what they are supposed to do and they really have not talked about it too much. But with what happened the other day they are probably all saying, ‘O.K, man, this is real, this is what we have to do.'”
Since July 25, teams have tested 2,528 players and 4,549 staff members, the NFLPA wrote in a memo sent to players Wednesday. Of the 65 positive cases, 32 were among vaccinated people. Citing the speedy spread of the Delta variant, the NFLPA said it will recommend increasing the frequency of tests among vaccinated players — up from once every two weeks to once a day. The NFL would have to agree to any change in testing frequency.
Bears tight end Jimmy Graham posted part of the memo on Twitter and wrote the following: “Was basically forced into getting the vaccine. Now I’m just confused.”
Graham’s issue, he explained, was that he could be fined a maximum $150,000 for missing daily coronavirus tests even though he’s vaccinated.
“How’s the punishment 100 [times] worse than last year and I’m vaccinated now?” he wrote.
Nagy said Graham has not discussed the issue with him.
“There is stuff going on every day with this and I think everybody is figuring out the best thing to do to be safe,” Nagy said. “And not just in the sports world but in life in general, every state is a little different in what they are doing. Masks, no masks, things are certainly changing.”
Nagy, like all NFL staffers, had to get the vaccine. He declined to detail what his thought process would have been like otherwise — “You can say one wrong thing and it goes the wrong way from what I say,” he said — and said he respects players’ viewpoints on the matter. While coaches like the Vikings’ Mike Zimmer and Washington’s Ron Rivera have been visibly frustrated with their team’s low vaccination rate, Nagy has remained even-keeled publicly. He said the Bears simply explain the facts to their players.
“You got the why –now you can make your decision on what you want to do,” Nagy said. “That’s literally all you can do and you got to be open and honest. Whatever people believe or get into, that’s up to them. Otherwise, it can be a distraction that takes you away from football.”
