NFLPA’s DeMaurice Smith says there’s no COVID-19 scenario where Super Bowl LV would be moved
The NFL has made it through the 2021 season on schedule amid its strict COVID-19 protocols. NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith doesn’t see that changing Sunday with Super Bowl LV.
On Wednesday, in an appearance on ESPN’s Keyshawn, JWill & Zubin Show, Smith was asked whether the players’ union would agree to move the Super Bowl if Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes or Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady were to test positive for COVID-19 ahead of the game.
“I don’t see any scenario where we would agree with the league to move the Super Bowl,” Smith said of any possible postponement. “I mean, look, we’ve had a difficult season. We’ve had teams in Cleveland, where I think JC Tretter, our union president, was breaking down film because they didn’t have a coach; we saw the Denver Broncos head into a [game] without a number of quarterbacks. I think it wouldn’t be fair to the rigor and the discipline that we’ve insisted that players have this year to move the Super Bowl. My hope, and certainly everybody’s hope, is that our players will continue to double down, do the great job that they’ve done all season, and we’ll get this fantastic game kicked off on time.”
On Monday, the Chiefs placed two players, wide receiver Demarcus Robinson and backup center Daniel Kilgore, on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Both players were put on the list as close contacts and will be eligible to play Sunday as long as they produce five consecutive days of negative tests.
The NFL had to reschedule games involving the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens this season because of COVID-19 outbreaks with both teams but was able to complete its regular season within the scheduled 17 weeks.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said this season that the NFL would not postpone a game for competitive reasons, not even if a team had multiple players from the same position group unavailable, as long as the rest of the team was not at risk from COVID-19.
Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski missed his team’s wild-card victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Browns also played a game against the New York Jets this season in which none of their top four wide receivers were available due to COVID-19 protocols. The Broncos had to start practice squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton at quarterback in a game this season against the New Orleans Saints after all three of the team’s regular QBs were unavailable due to COVID-19 protocols.