Minnesota, like every other NFL team, has had to go through training camp amid the coronavirus pandemic. Vikings coach Mike Zimmer spoke with reporters about how his team has been hit by the virus recently.
Zimmer told ESPN and other outlets that eight players, a coach and three staff members had presumptive positive tests from the New Jersey lab and will not practice Sunday.
“Honestly for us, it’s probably good that it happened now because we were able to adjust and adapt and figure out the kinds of things that would happen if [it] did happen during the season and what we would do from there,” Zimmer said, via ESPN.
As ESPN pointed out, every NFL player who tests positive for COVID-19 — even if it is found to be a false positive upon retest — has to have two negative tests before he can return to practice. That’s one of the many safety protocols the NFL has as the league tries to continue amid the pandemic.