On Tuesday, Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer accidentally said the quiet part loud.
Talking to reporters about his team’s roster cuts, Meyer stated what should be obvious to anyone following the NFL as its second COVID season approaches: that a player’s vaccination status was a factor in determining the 53 who would make the team’s roster.
“Everyone was considered,” Meyer said. “[Vaccination status] was part of the production: ‘Let’s start talking about this, and also is he vaccinated or not?’ Can I say that that was a decision maker? It was certainly in consideration.”
Meyer’s admission was not surprising. The COVID protocols the NFL adopted this year are vastly different for vaccinated and unvaccinated players: The former do not have to isolate if they come into contact with somebody who tests positive for COVID-19, whereas anyone unvaccinated must quarantine for five days. The intention is to incentivize players to get vaccinated by making life difficult for those who choose not to.
Given the importance of player availability in the NFL, these protocols make it all but impossible for a coach not to consider vaccination status in roster decisions.
But according to Pro Football Talk, the “agreed rules of the league and the union prevent teams from considering vaccination status.” In response to Meyer’s comments, the NFL Players Association told Pro Football Talk that it would be opening an investigation.
The Jaguars quickly backtracked, saying in a statement that while no player was released due to his decision about the vaccine, “availability is one of many factors taken into account when making roster decisions.”
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Vaccination just now has to be on the list of the many factors NFL coaches consider when finalizing their rosters, the same way they might consider a player’s injury history, speed, or arm talent.
The current NFL rules, though, force coaches and general managers to talk around these vaccination questions in public. Meyer slipped, spoke plainly, and stated the obvious, while Belichick successfully avoided a snake pit.
Other league leaders will likely take notice and thread a fine needle in their messaging: They’ll say vaccination status was not a factor in roster decisions, but availability was.
It’s a distinction without a difference.