As we enter the halfway point through training camp, the Indianapolis Colts remain one of the least vaccinated teams in the league, and their roster has already taken a slight hit because of it.
The Colts opened camp by putting three heavily-used defensive players on the reserve/COVID-19 list in cornerbacks Xavier Rhodes and T.J. Carrie along with defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad. The team added a fourth player to the list in offensive tackle Julién Davenport on the third day of camp while Carrie was activated on Monday to begin the second week.
Strictly speaking from a competitive advantage perspective, the Colts are on the back end. Head coach Frank Reich believes it’s an issue that the team is among the lowest vaccination rates in the league.
“It is a real issue and that’s why we’re working at it. I think our guys are taking it serious. I think we’re continuing to make progress as a club, we’re continuing to tell the players what we believe,” Reich told reporters Monday. “We believe it’s best to get vaccinated. We believe that that’s the best thing. We understand it’s a personal decision and so we’ll respect that.”
The last update surrounding the vaccination rate for the Colts is that they were over 60% with at least one shot. That was before the start of training camp so the number may be higher, but it’s still far too low compared to the rest of the league.
The latest update from the league stated that 19 teams are over a 90% vaccination rate with seven of them being over 95% vaccinated. That could wind up being a massive advantage for teams during the season.
For those who have been asking … 87.9% of #NFL players overall are vaccinated (at least one shot); 19 clubs have more than 90% players vaccinated; 7 clubs have more than 95% vaccinated https://t.co/irk8jO15jO
— Brian McCarthy (@NFLprguy) July 29, 2021
Make no mistake, the Colts certainly seem to be one of the more divided teams on this issue. But Reich is nowhere near concerned it will become an issue between players in the locker room.
“We’re going to tell them with all the passion we have what we believe is the right thing to do, but we’re going to trust every person to make their own individual decision, we’re going to hug and tell each other we love each other, and nothing is coming between us as a team,” said Reich. “We’re on a mission and we’re not going to let that kind of stuff come between us. We’re going to express our opinion, you make your own decision and we’ll keep moving forward.”
Reich himself tested positive for COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated. That might sway others into the narrative that it then doesn’t matter about vaccination status. However, breakthrough cases are seemingly rare with the vaccine while NFL protocols are testing vaccinated players once every two weeks as opposed to daily testing for unvaccinated players.
The chances of vaccinated players missing time due to a positive COVID-19 test are lower than those who are unvaccinated.
As much as we would love to simply talk about football, this will be a storyline for the Colts because of the consequences that come with being unvaccinated in the NFL.
Players will continue to make personal decisions, as they should, but if the Colts remain one of the least vaccinated teams in the NFL, there is a chance this becomes an issue throughout the season.
[lawrence-related id=60231,60226,60216]