Will NFL teams cut unvaccinated players?

With each piece of news about additional consequences for unvaccinated players, it seems the NFL is coming ever closer to making work unbearable for the unvaccinated.

First, they relaxed almost all COVID protocols for vaccinated players while keeping unvaccinated players in 2020. Now, the NFL has announced that it will assign teams a loss for any games that cannot be rescheduled as a result of an outbreak of the virus.

With the trajectory of the NFL's policies taking a turn against the unvaccinated, where does it end? Will teams eventually be left with no choice but to cut players refusing to get vaccinated?

The NFL tonight sent clubs updated training camp and preseason COVID protocols, including discipline for any player -- regardless of vaccination status -- who refuses to wear a tracking device ($14,650) or refuses to submit to required virus testing ($50,000), per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 28, 2021

The future of vaccination in the NFL

Of course, the odds of cutting any top players over their vaccination status remain unlikely. However, for players not as important as DeAndre Hopkins or Cole Beasley, their vaccination status is a de facto requirement to play in the NFL.

That said, teams may receive a lot of backlash or even potential lawsuits over the decision to cut players over their vaccination status. In an effort to avoid this, teams can easily cite other reasons for the same.

In the NFL, it is well known that teams cut players for any number of reasons. In fact, teams often look for any excuse to cut a player to reach a 53-man roster.

For players on the bubble, their vaccination status had better be on the right side of the line or else...

Additionally, while franchise players will remain safe as long as they produce at a high level, any dip in play could cost them their jobs.

The process of getting the league to a 100 percent vaccination rate will be a multi-year process. It will likely result in new players being required to be vaccinated.

At the same time, anti-vaxxers could eventually retire or be forced to once their play dips below a certain level. After about five years, the NFL will likely hover around 99 percent, with only a few quarterbacks or kickers remaining.

The process of getting to a 100 percent vaccination rate will be a long, grueling affair that will likely take years. Front offices will likely factor in vaccination status when drafting and signing new players while finding reasons to cut ties with players who are risking an outbreak and a loss in each game. The Cole Beasleys of the world have been put on notice.