ALLEN PARK – Matthew Stafford is not the only Detroit Lions player to fall victim to a false positive for COVID-19. In fact, there have been several according to a source source.
Detroit uses the same lab in New Jersey that the NFL is now investigating after a result of positive COVID-19 tests over the weekend. The Jets had 10 positive tests on Saturday alone, canceled their walk on Saturday night and closed their training center on Sunday morning. But subsequent tests revealed that every player who tested positive was actually negative.
The Bears, Bills, Browns, Steelers and Lions are among the teams to use that lab as well according to multiple reports.
“Saturday’s daily COVID tests returned several positive tests from each of the clubs served by the same lab in New Jersey,” the NFL said in a statement. “We are working with our test partner, BioReference, to investigate these results, while the clubs are working to confirm or rule out the positive tests. Clubs take immediate precautionary measures as outlined in the NFL-NFLPA’s health and safety protocols to track contact, isolate individuals, and temporarily adjust the schedule, as appropriate. The other labs used for NFL testing did not have similar results. ”
The Lions have held a handful of false positions from the lab in question. Another came up over the weekend, forcing the player to sit out Sunday practice. The player later took a quick test, which turned out to be negative. He is believed to be the victim of a false positive, and once he has passed two nasal tests, he will be removed to resume practice immediately. Detroit had an off-day Monday before returning to work Tuesday.
It remains unclear which player had the false positive. Bo back Bo Scarbrough, tight end Hunter Bryant and rookie running backs D’Andre Swift and Jason Huntley missed all practice on Sunday. Scarbrough, Bryant and Swift have been hampered by injuries in recent days. Huntley has not reported any injuries.
False positions have become a growing concern since Stafford tested positive in the first week of camp. He tested negative twice upon arrival at Allen Park, and just needed one more clean test to gain access to the building before the start of the conditioning period. But that July 31 test came up positive, and Stafford was immediately moved to the COVID-19 list.
But Stafford continued to pass COVID tests, three by Detroit’s count and five by his wives. The club soon knew the veteran quarterback was the victim of a false positive, but had to wait five days to activate him according to the league’s original COVID protocol.
“To be clear, Matthew did NOT have COVID-19 and has never had COVID-19 and the test in question was a false positive,” the Lions said in a statement. “Also, Matthew’s whole family has been tested and everyone is negative.”
The false positive was not a hefty deal, as Stafford was able to return after missing just two days of strength and stamina. He never missed an exercise. But if Stafford’s positive test happened on a Friday in the regular season, instead of in the first week of camp, he would be forced to miss a game due to a defective test result.
It was a warning shot that was heard throughout the league, and the NFL has since changed its policy, now saying players can take two nose tests to a positive result. If the player passes both of the following tests, he will be dealt a false positive and removed for immediate return.
That is an improvement. But as this recent patch of false positives shows, there are still issues with the system. There have been dozens of false positions, and we are still three weeks from the start of the regular season. It remains unclear when tests will take place in the regular season, but if a player were hit on a Saturday with a false positive, he might not have enough time to clear protocol to return to his team, even with the revised rules in place.
The NFL has a mess on its hands, and there are a lot of concerned clubs about football with only three weeks left until the weekend before opening.
