As the NFL confronts another surge in COVID-19 cases, no team is more familiar with the potential damage from an outbreak than the Ravens.
A little more than a year ago, they took on the Pittsburgh Steelers without 16 players, including quarterback Lamar Jackson, who were on the league’s reserve/COVID-19 list. They played the game — a 19-14 loss that dropped their record to 6-5 — on a Wednesday afternoon after three postponements.
In the face of this new wave of infections, the Ravens have so far stuck with the same guidelines that have carried them, and most of the league, through this season, but they are well aware of the difficulties that could lurk ahead.
“We’re following all the COVID protocols the NFL has put forth 100%, I’d say 120%,” coach John Harbaugh said. “We’ve been extra cautious. We separate guys whenever we think there’s any possibility of anything. You just do the best you can. We’ve been through it before. We understand how challenging it is.”
COVID-19 cases have risen almost 50% nationwide over the past two weeks, with physicians and public health officials warning that the surge will probably get worse because of the highly contagious Omicron variant. Though more than 94% of NFL players are vaccinated, the league has felt the brunt of this surge in recent days, with 75 players testing positive on Monday and Tuesday, according to an ESPN report. As of Wednesday afternoon, seven teams — the Browns, Bears, Falcons, Lions, Rams, Vikings and Washington — were reportedly in advanced COVID protocols.
Given such numbers, Dr. Larry Chang, a Johns Hopkins infectious diseases specialist, said the NFL and other leagues should consider urgently asking players to seek booster shots.
“I think boosters just went from a good idea to an essential part of any comprehensive plan to contain Omicron for any sports league,” Chang said. “We’re still learning about Omicron, but it’s clearly much more contagious than even the Delta variant. It appears that current vaccination without a booster only helps modestly, if at all, in preventing you from getting infected. It still helps keep you from getting very sick. But if you add in the booster, the booster pretty clearly is effective in preventing you from getting infected in the first place as well as preventing you from getting very sick.”
He predicted a rocky path ahead as the NFL confronts the new variant: “It’s only probably going to get much worse over the next month or two. I just think with the current rules in place, it’s possible, even probable, that Delta and Omicron are going to sweep through football teams, putting competitiveness into serious jeopardy.”
The Ravens have been relatively lucky so far, placing center Trystan Colon and practice squad wide receiver Binjimen Victor on the reserve/COVID-19 list this week. But the latest outbreaks have already impacted the AFC North race. Two days after the Browns outlasted the Ravens, 24-22, to move within one game of the divisional lead, they placed eight players on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Quarterback Baker Mayfield and coach Kevin Stefanski reportedly tested positive Wednesday, just three days ahead of Cleveland’s next game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Harbaugh did not express concerns about the Ravens’ recent contact with the Browns. “I know I talked to coach Stefanski, really closely, before the game and briefly but closely after the game,” he said. “That’s all I know.”
The Browns are one of seven teams, along with the Los Angeles Rams, Washington Football Team, Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions, currently operating under the NFL’s intensive protocols, meaning they must be tested daily, hold meetings virtually and wear masks at their team facilities.
The NFL, meanwhile, announced that coaches and other staff members who deal directly with players will have to receive booster shots by Dec. 27. That requirement does not apply to players, who are tested once a week if they have received a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines (those who show symptoms or are deemed close contacts are tested more frequently).
In its memo announcing the booster requirements for staff members, the league said teams “should also consider making booster shots available for player and staff families and cohabitants.”
The NFL Players Association has opposed vaccine mandates for its members but has encouraged players to get vaccinated and has pushed for a return to daily testing, which was required last season.
“The NFL decided to take away a critical weapon in our fight against the transmission of COVID-19 despite our union’s call for daily testing months ago,” the NFLPA said in a statement. “We’re talking to our player leadership & to the NFL about potential changes to the protocols so that we can complete the season.”
The league has resisted more frequent testing.
“The goal isn’t to test as much as you can,” Dr. Christina Mack, an epidemiologist who advises the league and union, told the New York Times. “The goal is to set up a comprehensive program to keep people safe and to detect infection when it’s there in a strategic way.”
But Chang said a weekly testing schedule leaves too many gaps for asymptomatic players and staff members to spread COVID-19 within a team facility.
“If the goal of the league is to reduce these transmission chains … then yes, daily testing is going to make a big difference over weekly testing,” he said. “To have somebody tested weekly means they could have been infectious for many days, transmitting within your facility, prior to you knowing about it.”
Chang said the NFL might also want to consider asking players and staff members to wear high-quality, KF94 or KN95 masks at all times within team facilities.
Ravens players said Wednesday they’re committed to following existing protocols but did not weigh in on the possibility of booster requirements or more frequent testing.
“Listen, I’ve got a job to do and I’m going to follow the protocols do what I’m supposed to do,” veteran outside linebacker Justin Houston said. “But that’s outside my hands. That’s nothing I need to worry about. I’ve got [Green Bay Packer quarterback] Aaron Rodgers coming to town. That’s a whole lot to worry about. So I’ve got my focus elsewhere right now.”
“I got that vaccine; I hope it works,” said rookie wide receiver Rashod Bateman, who endured a nasty bout with COVID-19 last year. “I’m going to start putting my mask on. I am vaccinated, so hopefully, I won’t have those problems again.”
The NFL is not alone in pushing booster shots as a countermeasure. The NBA, which postponed two games this week in the face of an outbreak on the Chicago Bulls, will require game-day tests for players who have not received the booster and will restrict access for staff members who have not received the additional shot.
Week 15
PACKERS@RAVENS
Sunday, 4:25 p.m.
TV: Chs. 45, 5 Radio: 97.9 FM, 1090 AM
Line: Packers by 5 ½