TAMPA, Fla. – Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cameron Brate, who was diagnosed with the new coronavirus this offseason and has since recovered, said attending Tom Brady’s organized workouts is a “calculated risk” and think it won’t be much different to choose to play this season
Brate contracted the virus as player-organized workouts were held a few months ago, but his fiancée, Brooke, with whom he lives, started showing symptoms first, so he was quarantined before his diagnosis.
“Initially I had a negative result, but at some point, I contracted it from her and then became infected,” Brate said. “For me personally, the only thing I experienced was a loss of taste for two days. So I am extremely grateful that I was not one of the people who had some of the most severe symptoms.”
“From the way things worked, I was already quarantined before I had a positive test or something. I think the guys continued to work and luckily I wasn’t putting anyone at risk, which was great,” said Brate. who has fully recovered.
Brate said the workouts, which were held several times a week, continued after he was diagnosed. He said the players tried to be responsible about it and discussed ways to minimize the risk.
“It was definitely something we talked about, definitely something we tried to find the best way to do it. I would probably say … we weren’t the only quarterbacks and receivers that did it in the entire league, although I think we were the only ones who had a helicopter above us filming it, that was interesting for sure, “said Brate.
“We just tried to avoid the risk of exposure to each other as much as possible. We weren’t snuggling, we didn’t hug or anything like that. We just had a little cheat outside, so it was kind of a calculated risk, I would say, that we took in that regard. We did our best to try to keep social distance and really not have too many close interactions with each other. “
“I will say the scary thing is that if I hadn’t tested positive, I would have gone on with my life like other normal and potentially infected people,” Brate said. “So that was the takeaway, it was how terrifying that possibility was. I think that’s potentially the case for a lot of people as well.”
Now that Brate and his fiancee have recovered, they both plan to donate plasma as many times as they can, something the Bucs really got close to. Brate recently filmed a PSA with OneBlood to encourage people to donate plasma, the liquid part of the blood. According to the FDA, those who have recovered from the infection have antibodies that can help others who are fighting to fight the disease.
As for how he thinks the league is managing security when the players report and soon start practicing, Brate said: “There will always be risks involved, because you cannot social distance playing soccer. You are tackling, you are blocking, you are sweating, spitting on each other, whatever, there’s a lot at stake in football. “
While no Bucs player has chosen not to play in 2020, teammate Donovan Smith voiced concern on social media two weeks ago before the NFL and NFLPA agreed to the daily tests. Since then, Smith showed up for camp on Tuesday. But Brate does not blame players from other teams who have chosen not to participate and respects their decisions.
“There really is no difference between summer training and now, there is no vaccine or anything. They are all dealing with the same risk calculation that they have to do for themselves and their families,” Brate said.
“Everyone has the right to make their own decision, about what is best for them and those closest to them. I have seen people from across the league decide to opt out. Sometimes, you will read the comments and there will be many things. negative about his decision and that’s very discouraging to see because how can you blame someone for putting their health and that of their family first?
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