The Miami Dolphins’ first prominent run-in with COVID-19 this season has arrived. The Miami Dolphins have been tracking well in updates regarding COVID-19 vaccinations; but with cases on the rise in Florida and breakthrough cases remaining as a slim possibility, the news this afternoon shouldn’t come as a surprise. The report, coming from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, indicates that Miami Dolphins co-offensive coordinator George Godsey has tested positive for COVID-19 despite being vaccinated.
Dolphins’ co-offensive coordinator/TEs George Godsey, who has been vaccinated, tested positive for COVID-19 and has been sent home, per sources. Miami’s other co-OC, Eric Studesville, will run O.
Other Dolphins’ tight ends now expected to land on COVID list as close contacts.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 1, 2021
Every NFL team is likely to have some level of conflict with the virus once again this season with players ultimately being given the right to make their own decisions regarding vaccinations and how they’ll be charged with working through the 2021 season. The NFL has been fine tuning COVID-19 protocols for vaccinated and un-vaccinated players alike this summer; but as Godsey serves as evidence for, being vaccinated unfortunately isn’t a foolproof defense.
But it should mitigate the impact of this flareup within the Dolphins’ building. As Schefter points out, the tight end room may need to keep their distance until they clear testing to ensure there’s no spread among the players; but the hope is that the vaccination rate of the team will help prevent the domino effect that would otherwise spread steadily throughout the roster and building over the course of the coming days and, potentially, weeks.
Miami has not formally announced the distribution of responsibilities for their co-offensive coordinators this season; but the next week or so will be crystal clear: Eric Studesville will run the offense at training camp with Godsey likely contributing to the install remotely until he’s recovered from his positive test.