Elliott concerned about NFL’s virus precautions
Cowboys running back weathering mild case of COVID-19
Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott said his case of COVID-19 has been a mild one. But in a Twitch chat Wednesday with YouTube host Scooter Magruder, he said the NFL needs to do everything it can to protect its players and their family members if it wants to have a season amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“I just feel like there’s a lot of moving parts that have to be figured out,” Elliott said. “I just don’t know how they can keep the players healthy.
You’ve got to put the health of the players first. And it’s not even so much I would say the players’ health because I got corona and it didn’t really affect me much. But a lot of people have kids, they may have kids with asthma, their parents or grandparents may live with them.
“We have to find a way to make sure the players and their families, and the coaches also and their families, aren’t put at risk.”
The NFL Network reported last week that Elliott had tested positive for COVID-19. On Wednesday, he said he is mostly back on his feet, though not enough to begin working out for the season.
“I would say I had maybe one or two days where I felt symptoms, and even then it wasn’t too bad,” Elliott said. “I had a cough and a little bit of shortness of breath but now honestly I feel good, I feel normal. Still can’t work out.”
The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday that the NFL and the players’ union have agreed
that players will report to training camp starting July 28. However, the two sides still are negotiating how teams will operate amid a coronavirus pandemic that is worsening in a number of states that host NFL teams.
The preseason schedule likely will be shortened to two games per team, however, and on Thursday ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Hall of Fame Game, the annual preseason opener in Canton, Ohio, has been canceled. Plus, the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s enshrinement ceremonies, which take place that same weekend in August, has been postponed.
The Cowboys and Steelers were scheduled to play in the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 6 and, because of that, were expected to report to training camp before other teams. They will now square off in the 2021 game, Schefter said, and report at the same time as other teams. This year’s Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony also is expected to be held next year.
“This is the right decision for several reasons, first and foremost the health and welfare of our Gold Jackets, incoming centennial class of 2020 members, hall personnel and event volunteers,” said David Baker, the hall’s CEO. “We also must consider the most appropriate way to fulfill the first tenet of our mission: To honor the heroes of the game. This decision meets that duty.”
A number of NFL coaches have expressed concern about social distancing guidelines that are likely to be in place for training camps. Elliott seems to think they might be in order, no matter how hard they might be to pull off.
“I do hope we have a season,” Elliott said. “But it has to be right.”