Cowboys’ Jerry Jones pushes for vaccine
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the ‘common good must trump personal decision’ when it comes to getting the COVID-19 vaccine,
FRISCO, Texas — Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has adamantly promoted the COVID-19 vaccine since its release.
On Tuesday, one day after several of his team’s players landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, Jones doubled down on the vaccine’s necessity.
“Everyone has a right to make their own decisions regarding their health and their body. I believe in that completely—until your decision as to yourself impacts negatively many others,” Jones said Tuesday morning during his appearance on Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan. “Then the common good takes over.”
A month ago, when the Cowboys opened training camp in Oxnard, California, Jones said all but a “handful” of his players were fully vaccinated or committed to receiving inoculations. On Saturday night, the Cowboys encountered their first COVID-19 challenge of the season when defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and defensive tackle Carlos Watkins were sent home from a preseason game against the Houston Texans due to virus concerns. A team spokesperson said then that 93% of Cowboys players—which equates to 80 of the team’s 86 — were vaccinated. The team did not clarify whether that measure included players who had received one or both doses but not yet completed the 14-day incubation period after their final dose for full protection.
The Cowboys coaching staff, Quinn included, is 100% fully vaccinated.
“I’m arm-waving here, but that has everything to do with the way I look at our team, the Cowboys, or the way I look at our society,” Jones said Tuesday morning. “We have got to check ‘I’ at the door and go forward with ‘we’. Your Dallas Cowboys are doing that.”
On Wednesday, Quinn participated in meetings virtually in accordance with league protocol. Defensive backs coach Joe Whitt assumed responsibilities for running through the practice script. Four players also remained on the reserve/COVID-19 list, head coach Mike McCarthy indicating a fifth could be added pending a retest.
Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, safeties Israel Mukuamu and Malik Hooker and defensive tackle Carlos Watkins are on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Lamb is fully vaccinated, a person with knowledge of his vaccination status told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information. Mukuamu has received both shots but not yet hit the 14-day mark from his last dose to be considered fully vaccinated, a person with knowledge of his status told USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity.
McCarthy indicated Wednesday morning that two players in protocol were close contacts who had not tested positive.
Team and staff meetings shifted this week to a hybrid of virtual formats and more-spaced, better-ventilated accommodations. McCarthy canceled his teamwide meeting Wednesday morning to minimize how many players were indoors in close quarters together. The team practiced on outdoor fields.
NFL policy stipulates that a vaccinated person who tests positive for COVID-19 must isolate until they have tested negative on consecutive PCR tests, 24 hours apart. Should the person develop COVID-19 symptoms, they must also be asymptomatic for 48 hours. An unvaccinated person must isolate for 10 days after testing positive. A vaccinated person exposed to COVID-19 in close contact must test negative for eight days but can be present if asymptomatic. An unvaccinated player exposed to COVID-19 as a high-risk close contact must remain isolated for five days regardless of test status.
A caveat of the Cowboys’ COVID-19 challenges: Players on the reserve list do not count toward roster limits. NFL teams were required to trim their rosters from 85 to 80 players by Tuesday at 3 p.m. CT. With four players on the COVID-19 reserve — and a fifth in limbo pending a retest — the Cowboys may not need to release any player to adhere to the quota. A roster move would, however, be required before a player on reserve could be reactivated.
“Just like most things we do, we’re just being cautious and want to make sure we contain this outbreak and just be smart with that,” McCarthy said Monday afternoon at the Star. “We all have clear understanding what the state of what we’re in. We’re by no means clear of what went on last year.”