Could 2021 NFL season be cancelled due to COVID-19?
The 2021 NFL season was going along smoothly for the first 14 weeks of the year. Players were missing time due to COVID-19, but the schedule had remained intact. That is great news for the NFL and its television partners.
Then came Week 15 when everything changed. Three games were moved as six teams had their schedules affected by COVID-19. The Cleveland Browns and Las Vegas Raiders moved from Saturday to Monday, while the Washington Football Team and Philadelphia Eagles joined the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks with a move to Tuesday.
The Browns, Rams, and the Washington Football Team in particular all had outbreaks, but are not alone across the NFL. Such an outbreak last season may have forced the league to deal with a shutdown. But now? The existence of vaccines has allowed the league to postpone without canceling games.
NFL unlikely to cancel the 2021 season
The NFL has been rapidly updating its COVID protocols to stay in line with its up-to-date understanding of the virus. For example, the league recently changed its rules so vaccinated individuals do not need to be tested unless they are showing symptoms.
This seeks to eliminate the scenario, seen this week, where large amounts of vaccinated players are forced to sit out because of a positive test, even when they are showing zero symptoms.
The NFL and NFLPA agreed on changes to the COVID-19 protocols, with a more targeted testing approach. https://t.co/FmMWZ5IMbM
The entire situation would be different if this was like last year, where there were no vaccines. An outbreak on one team could spread all over the league and create a health crisis. Now, there is more confidence that the vaccines are working, allowing players to catch the virus and still be ready to play with no symptoms.
Canceling the season as a whole is simply not going to happen. The NFL makes way too much money to ever consider such a possibility. But let's say this week repeats itself and there are even more teams who won't even be able to field a full roster.
One potential fix is for the entire league to take a full week off. That allows players to quarantine and for testing to continually take place without updates coming out on a Friday or Saturday that puts a team's chances in question.
Staffs across the NFL are now getting this message. Changes in testing protocol expected to go into effect tomorrow.
“All tier 1 and tier 2 staff do not need to undergo COVID-19 testing, unless you are currently experiencing symptoms.” https://t.co/uTR8i58aBg
The NFL does not show much stress on this matter during the regular season. But what if a team loses half its starters in the playoffs? That's when the NFL may have to make a postponement that will certainly cause outrage amongst some teams. However one would think that no team should want to win just because the other lost all its talent.
The NFL will not be canceling the rest of the season. However, postponing more games could take place if another outbreak occurs among vaccinated individuals. The new protocols make things easier, but it is also possible symptoms are still seen in vaccinated players.
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