False positives testing the league’s protocols
In two-plus weeks, the NFL kicks off its season. That doesn’t leave the league much time to resolve significant issues about its COVID19 testing procedures.
BioReference Laboratories, which is conducting tests for the league, said an isolated contamination caused 77 “most likely false positive results,” at its lab in New Jersey. Eleven clubs were affected, and the tests were re-examined and found to be false positives.
“This has been an interesting dynamic because what happened this weekend gave the NFL an opportunity to do a sort of a test fire drill,” noted Dr. Larry Caplin, who said he consults nearly 20 NFL players and their union about testing protocols, “It exposed issues and potential vulnerabilities in their process, and a lot of it relates to the speed in which they’re able to confirm results.”
Among teams reporting false positives, the Vikings had 12 team members, the Jets 10, the Bears 9 and the Lions1. In all, 44 players and 33 club personnel drew false positives.
“It’s probably good that it happened now since we’re able to adjust and adapt and figure out the things if it did happen during the season, and kind of what we would do from there,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said.
Browns
Rookie safety Grant Delpit was carted off the practice field with a right Achilles injury, the latest Cleveland player to go down in what has been a very tough training camp so far for the team and first-year coach Kevin Stefanski. A second-round pick from national champion LSU, Delpit was expected to start this season.
Raiders
Wide receiver Tyrell Williams has a torn labrum in his shoulder that he will try to play through this season. The Raiders were counting on a healthy season from Williams after he spent most of last season dealing with injuries to both feet. Williams has an $11 million guaranteed salary this season and is one of the highestpaid players on the team.
Falcons
Atlanta released guard Jamon Brown, who started nine games in 2019. The Falcons signed Brown and another veteran guard, James Carpenter, to free-agent deals before the 2019 season. The team had hoped the veterans would provide stability to a problem area.
Patriots
New England might not have settled on its replacement for kicker Stephen Gostkowski. New England re-signed veteran Nick Folk, giving rookie fifth-round draft pick Justin Rohrwasser some competition for the job as the team moves into what coach Bill Belichick said was a “big week” for players in the truncated training camp.
Dolphins
Miami will allow up to 13,000 socially distancing fans to attend their home opener on Sept. 20 against the Buffalo Bills, a decision that divided local political leaders. Crowd size will be about 20% of the stadium’s 65,326-seat capacity, with the limitation imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Groups of spectators will be spaced 6 feet apart.
Seahawks
Defensive end Branden Jackson was back at the team facility two days after he suffered a head injury in a team scrimmage and was taken away in an ambulance.