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The NFL has come down hard with new rules regarding the potential rescheduling of games this season due to a COVID outbreak from unvaccinated players.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the league informed all 32 teams that if a game can’t be rescheduled in the 18-week season, the team that had the outbreak from player(s) that were not vaccinated will have to forfeit the game.
The new rule could have a major impact on playoff seedings and team records. On top of that, though, the team that caused the outbreak will be subject to penalty from the league. Neither team will get paid for that week as well if the game isn’t played.
The NFL just informed clubs that if a game cannot be rescheduled during the 18-week season in 2021 due to a COVID outbreak among unvaccinated players, the team with the outbreak will FORFEIT and be credited with a loss for playoff seeding, per sources.
Massive implications.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 22, 2021
Accessibility in team facilities has begun to open up following the creation of COVID vaccines. The NFL’s goal was to have each team get up to 85 percent of their roster vaccinated by the time the season comes around. This new rescheduling rule puts even more of an emphasis on players to receive a COVID vaccination.
Judy Batista of the NFL Network reported on Thursday that 14 teams have at least 85 precent of their players vaccinated and that 78 percent of players throughout the whole league have at least one vaccination shot.
Rescheduling was rampant throughout the 2020 NFL season. It was the first time in league history that an NFL game was played on every single day of the week at least once. It wasn’t by choice, as numerous teams had a COVID spread through the locker room, causing teams to change bye weeks and play on a variety of days.
While the Bucs didn’t have to reschedule a day to play a game, they did have to change a kickoff time. Due to precautions stemming from a game the Raiders played the week before, the Bucs’ Week 7 road win against Las Vegas was moved to a 4:05 start so NBC’s Sunday Night Football could make sure they had a nationally televised game in the event of a cancelation.
The Bucs were also hit with the ramifications of the virus, as key players such as Donovan Smith and Ronald Jones II missed a game from being placed on the reserve/COVID list and Devin White even missed Week 17 and the Wild Card Round in the postseason after testing positive for COVID.
Training camp for the Bucs is set to kickoff on Sunday July 25, as they prepare to defend their Super Bowl LV Championship and go for two.
