Doug Marrone Reflects On Jaguars Updated COVID-19 List Numbers and What It Means For 2020 Season
Fewer and further.
That’s become the company line for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Head Coach Doug Marrone as they welcome back near the entirety of the team for 2020 training camp in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Jaguars have been hit harder than any team in the league thus far, having placed 12 guys on the newly created Reserve/COVID-19 list since July 27. There have technically been 13 submissions. Tight end Charles Jones was placed on the list July 30, activated back to the roster on August 2 and then placed back on the COVID list later that day.
The complete current list of Jaguars on the Reserve/Covid-19 list are as follows:
QB Gardner Minshew II
RB Ryquell Armstead
S Andrew Wingard
TE Charles Jones
WR Michael Walker
CB Parry Nickerson
OL Tre'Vour Wallace-Simms
OL Ryan Pope
The state of Florida has been disproportionately affected by the novel coronavirus, with 487,000+ cases and counting, albeit the majority in South Florida. But Marrone told reporters he doesn’t feel players have been negligent.
Marrone and the Jaguars are staying "fewer and farther" in this year's training camp. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
“Everyone understands what's at stake, you know, a roster spot or what's going on or missing time … I mean guys are coming from all over the country. Like I said before … for myself I mean you got, you look at some families, I have friends of mine and all the children, playing a sport and you go into gyms before they report it and you know, some people have mask on, some people don’t," Marrone said during a virtual press conference on Monday.
"We see it on the media all the time. You know, you just got to be aware of your surroundings and where you are and a lot of different ways that you could come in contact with this virus. So I feel good, I really do about, you know, how we're trying to educate our players and I feel good about how they're responding. I think sometimes it's just bad luck.”
In an effort to do whatever they can to curb bad luck, the Jags have adopted the “fewer and further” mantra for when guys are in the facility. Employee tiers help guarantee there will only be a certain number of staff members in the building at the same time as the players. But as for the players themselves, the Jaguars roster still hosts close to 90 guys (some are out with excused absences).
Marrone and his staff have discussed sequestering a quarterback during the season (Gardner Minshew II was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list Sunday) and still host most meetings virtually. Players split into groups to hit the weight room separately and training camp practices are still split into two groups—rookies and veterans. Any unnecessary interaction is done away with for the time being.
But they’re looking to strike a balance between having guys around one another to prepare for a season in which they must take the field together, with mitigating risk.
“We're always looking to make sure that we're, you know, fewer and further. So we're always looking to do that, you know, there be fewer and further away and and have a safe distance with each other," Marrone said.
“At the end of the day you gotta be on the field together … everywhere you go there's gonna be a risk of something that you do. You know that that best player is going to be on the field obviously, practicing with his teammates or in a huddle. So I just think it's a matter of, again, it's about mitigating risk and know what you feel is the best environment that you can control to keep it safe outside of obviously you know the work that you're going to be doing that on the field, down the road.”
For now, coaches have worked to keep players educated. They remind them to get in the habit of having their mask on and remember, “we're all in a process of learning.” If guys want to be sequestered—like the New Orleans Saints are doing to create a bubble—then Marrone says obviously they can put them in a hotel room.
He also tells his players stories of his playing days, when he and other smaller time players would hole up with a Pro-Bowler in their big house for training camp. When the season started, several of them would get an apartment together. It’s a reminder, says Marrone, that for as much time as the team needs to spend together, they must also be careful and recognize the situation if they’re around someone who’s tested positive.
On that note, the NFL did update their COVID-19 protocols on Monday to redefine “coming in close contact with someone” that was found to be infected as “within six feet for 15 minutes.”
The change to the protocol is a reminder that this is all a fluid situation that can change from one update to the next as doctors and scientists continue to learn more about this complex virus. It’s also a reminder for Marrone that even with 12 players having been placed on the Jaguars COVID-19 list (eight currently still are on the list), and with over 80 players in the league on the list in general, that it’s still far too early to decide to pack in the NFL season.
“I don't try to look so far ahead because I don't know what this virus can do or pick up or however [it] may go. What I look at is what we're doing right now safety-wise," Marrone said.
“There's constant communication with the league and the doctors and we're constantly trying to create an environment that's safer and safer," Marrone continued.
"I wouldn't be here if I thought it was a high risk so I think that's what a lot of us are going through, I mean you know we're looking at i. We appreciate the amount of work, the amount of time that has been put into these protocols that have been put in place for our safety, even though that we understand that there's a risk, so you know, each and every day you got to evaluate that.”
