During a weekend when college football stadiums were back to maximum capacity for the first time in nearly two years, the ongoing COVID pandemic is suddenly the main story in the NFL just four days before opening night of its season. Connor Williams comes off the watchlist for Dallas just as Zack Martin tests positive for the virus and CeeDee Lamb talks about the symptoms he experienced. Tom Brady reveals he had the virus and believes it will affect the NFL even more this year than last. The fans will be back in full force around the league… but will there be a full 272 games played this year? It suddenly feels iffy.
Also in the news, La’el Collins returns from his neck stinger just in time for Tampa, two of the Cowboys’ biggest stars are eager to finally be unleashed against the Bucs, and the team is still tinkering with the roster by officially re-signing their punter. Uniform news: another batch of new jersey numbers for several Cowboys, and could today’s traditional football helmets be replaced by soft shells in an effort to improve player safety? Plus, get to know the Cowboys’ defensive backs with a new batch of player profiles. That’s all ahead in the News and Notes.