The NFL is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic more than it has before, and Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard wanted to make sure the team understood just how important this time is.
As the Tennessee Titans continue to deal with the ramifications of a team outbreak, which has put their Week 5 game with the Bills in jeopardy, Ballard held a meeting on Tuesday with the team stressing that everyone be on the same page when it comes to their goals as a team.
“At our team meeting yesterday, Chris (Ballard) spoke to the team (and) gave them a good update from league meetings that both he and I were on. I said a few words yesterday. I let Chris say most of the words yesterday,” said HC Frank Reich. “Today, I just kind of gave a reminder. I have a meeting with our player leadership council every Wednesday morning. We talked about it again this morning, mentioned it briefly at the team meeting today. Our guys are pretty locked in. They are responsible. They know this is serious stuff and we want to do everything we can do to stay healthy and strong and keep everybody else healthy and strong and continue to play football. So, we’re going to do our part.”
Amid the pandemic, the Colts have been taking every precaution to ensure they are doing their role in keeping the season moving along. Linebacker Darius Leonard said last week that it all comes down to being accountable.
“It’s all about accountability and putting the team before everything. We have a lot of selfless guys in our locker room that are willing to put themselves last instead of going out, and putting the team first. That’s one thing I commend about this locker room,” said Leonard. “Everybody wants to go out, but we know we have common goal and that is win the Super Bowl. We can’t win a Super Bowl with COVID in the house. We’re definitely taking the right precautions there. Yes, it’s a wake-up call because we haven’t talked about COVID for a long time and now that it hit – it hits you right there. OK, guys make sure you’re still doing it because sometimes you can get lackadaisical about it because it’s not happening. It’s definitely a wake-up call not just for Tennessee or the Vikings but the whole NFL.”
The situation with the Titans will be one to monitor closely as it could have an impact on the rest of the league, but the Colts seem to be intent on following the protocols in order to ensure the season moves on without more complications.