The Jacksonville Jaguars are no strangers to the NFLPA, and it looks like the two will be getting reacquainted. The union announced that they would be investigating the Jags after the team’s head coach Urban Meyer discussed how COVID-19 vaccination status played a role in the formation of their final roster.
“Everyone was considered. That was part of the production, let’s start talking about this, and then also is he vaccinated or not,” Meyer said to the media. “Can I say that that was a decision maker? It was certainly in consideration.”
It didn’t take long for the NFLPA to get word of these statements, and once they did, one of the union’s executives, George Atallah, told ESPN that the comments “have led us to open an investigation.”
Of course, the conversations about the vaccination status of players come as the league has enforced strict COVID-19 protocols for those who aren’t vaccinated. However, the league has also said that teams are prohibited from parting ways from a player because of their vaccination status.
A deeper dive into league protocol for vaccinated and unvaccinated players shows that there is a significant difference between the two. Players who are unvaccinated and test positive for COVID-19 have to quarantine for 10 days. If they are in a scenario where they are in close contact with someone who tests positive, they would have to isolate for five days, even if they test negative.
Vaccinated players who test positive can either miss 10-days or return once they register two negative tests within 24 hours of each other. Vaccinated players also can’t be classified as high-risk cases, but if exposed to someone who is a positive case, they have to wear a mask in the facility and have to test daily for five consecutive days after their encounter with the person who was positive.
Needless to say, this is something that would make every front office weigh whether keeping certain unvaccinated players is worth the risk as they could miss significant time. It’s also worth mentioning that the NFL is prepared to dole out severe consequences in the event of an outbreak among unvaccinated players. Those consequences include forfeiture, a potential loss for the team, and the loss of game checks. Time, in this case, is quite literally money — if even a few players on a team are forced to quarantine for 10 days, in a season where games are four to seven days apart (for the Jags), that could have a catastrophic impact.
Critics of the NFLPA have argued that the Jags, along with the rest of the NFL’s teams, aren’t wrong to consider that when it comes to their players. After all, it’s their job to put the team in the best position to win when creating their final rosters.
The Jags had a recent case where edge-rusher Josh Allen was on Reserve/COVID-19 from Aug. 23-29. During those six days, he didn’t test positive for COVID-19 and it resulted in him missing the Jags’ last two preseason games against the New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys.
“Josh Allen’s never had it and he’s not played in two weeks,” Meyer said Tuesday. “He’s never had COVID. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say that, but he’s never had COVID. So, that’s pretty punitive.”
That said, with the NFLPA watching closely, it’d be wise for coaches and front office staff to not publicly concede that vaccination status has been factored into consideration for roster cuts. But to Meyer’s credit, vaccination status was just one of the things his staff considered, not the sole reason players could be cut.
The NFLPA undoubtedly understands that many teams likely have the same mindset as Meyer, and it’s hard to imagine that the league’s COVID-19 protocols aren’t at least partially designed to make opting out of vaccination as inconvenient — and costly — as possible. Now, only time will tell what the implications of this investigation will be for the Jags and the rest of the league.