Report: NFLPA Investigating After Meyer Admits Jaguars Considered Vaccination Status In Cuts
The Jacksonville Jaguars and Head Coach Urban Meyer will reportedly be under investigation by the NFLPA, due to Meyer’s admittance that the Jaguars considered COVID-19 vaccination status when setting their initial 53-man roster on Tuesday.
According to Pro Football Talk, “[Meyer’s] comments have led us to open an investigation,” NFLPA spokesman George Atallah told PFT via text message.
When the NFL and NFLPA set COVID protocols for players that were vaccinated players versus those unvaccinated, they not so subtly relayed the message, get vaccinated, or this season will be near impossible for you and your team.
There were no mandates handed down per se; just a rigid set of rules that would set apart those unvaccinated from their peers who are vaccinated. Among them, extended quarantine time, enhanced testing and stricter contact tracing protocols; all of which would make it difficult to justify keeping an unvaccinated player who was on the bubble.
There was only one issue; teams weren’t supposed to actually say that went into the decision. Admitting that a vaccination status was considered when evaluating who to cut versus who to put on the active roster would mean a player was being punished for their medical decision.
This summer, Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane admitted on the team-sponsored One Bills Live radio show, that he would cut an unvaccinated player to get the team closer to herd immunity "because it'd be an advantage" for a team to have a normal offseason experience. It was later reported that Beane was reprimanded by the NFL for his comments.
As NFLPA JC Trotter said in his letter explaining the protocols, "Though we believe the vaccine is both safe and effective, players have the choice whether to take it or not. Unlike among the NFL coaching ranks or in other businesses, the vaccine is not mandated for NFL players."
But on Tuesday, after clubs reduced their rosters from 80 players to the 53-man roster, Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer admitted what everyone else knew to be the case.
“Everyone was considered. That was part of the production, let’s start talking about this, and then also is he vaccinated or not. Can I say that that was a decision maker? It was certainly in consideration,” said Meyer Tuesday afternoon.
For his part, Meyer didn't say vaccination was the only factor in choosing which player to keep or which to cut; rather it was just one consideration.
Pundits have made the conversation common fare, going so far as to speculate it was his vaccination status that led the New England Patriots to cut former MVP quarterback Cam Newton, and name rookie Mac Jones the starter for Week 1. Newton is unvaccinated and as such, just missed five days of training camp due to a “COVID testing misunderstanding.” His unavailability hurt his status.
It’s an issue the Jags have already encountered as well. Starting defensive end/outside linebacker Josh Allen was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list last Monday, ahead of the Jags second preseason game against the New Orleans Saints. He wasn’t moved back to the active roster until yesterday, one week later. It meant he was also held out of the final preseason game, a win against the Dallas Cowboys.
“Josh Allen’s never had [COVID] and he’s not played in two weeks. He’s never had COVID. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say that, but he’s never had COVID. So, that’s pretty punitive,” Meyer lamented on Tuesday.
Allen was always going to make the roster, as a former first rounder who can set the edge and rush the passer as a versatile end. But for those on the bubble, availability was of course going to come into consideration. That can’t be admitted though. Now that Meyer has said it out loud, he and the Jaguars could have to deal with even more consequences from the NFLPA’s vaccination protocols.
