Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Dennis Kelly, who is also a player rep for the team, is not playing games when it comes to adhering to COVID-19 protocols at training camp.
During Zoom calls with the media on Monday, safety Kevin Byard and left tackle Taylor Lewan explained how stringent Kelly is in making sure his teammates are taking every precaution necessary.
According to ESPN’s Turron Davenport, Lewan appreciates what Kelly is doing, but likened him to a dictator. Lewan has also experienced Kelly’s wrath first hand.
“I think Dennis would be an unbelievable dictator in any country the way he’s been handling the mask thing. It’s been very annoying but he’s doing a good job,” offensive lineman Taylor Lewan said.
Even though Lewan and Kelly are very good friends, Kelly has a job to do. Lewan joked that Kelly got on him for wearing his mask below his nose and re-explained the protocols regarding safety in the facility.
Byard appreciates Kelly’s strict enforcement, while also noting that the teams that can remain healthy will have the best chance to be successful in 2020, which is certainly true.
“Dennis Kelly is our player rep…he’s been anal [-retentive] about it. We’re all getting used to these new rules as far as wearing the masks and protocols,” team captain Kevin Byard said. “But it’s good. At the end of the day, the safest team, the healthiest team this year I think is going to be the one playing in January and February.”
This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, as Kelly was previously very outspoken about the league needing to get its act together in terms of coming up with protocols before the NFL and NFLPA reached a deal.
And it’s understandable why. Kelly is just one of multiple Titans players who have welcomed new children into the world this year. This isn’t just about protecting the players themselves, it’s also about protecting their families.
Navigating the upcoming season is going to be tricky and one bad outbreak that causes key players to miss games could derail a season — but it looks like the Titans are in good hands with Kelly clearly on top of things.
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