Earlier today, we ran across the news that the Vikings in Minnesota were among a group of NFL teams that suddenly tested a large number of players positively for COVID-19. Well, we are happy to report that that, officially, was a false alarm.
Under NFL-NFLPA protocol, the original tests are also retested – and all results have also been negative per source.
Further evidence of a lab problem that caused what now appears to be 77 false positions.
– Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 24, 2020
Nearby, Daily Norseman’s Personal Friend Tom Pelissero ™ reports that 77 players in 11 NFL teams were affected by the tests, all of which were processed by the same lab in New Jersey. Those 77 players all underwent additional tests and all tested negative. The original tests were also retested, presumably by another facility, and all of these also came back negative.
Of all the teams affected by the test snafu, I believe the Vikings had the most members of their organization with 12. .8 players, 3 staff members, and a coach. I do not remember seeing reports of other teams having a higher number than that.
Fortunately, as it turns out, neither the Vikings nor any other NFL team members added new additions to any reserve list / COVID-19 lists this weekend. With the Cincinnati Bengals removing receiver John Ross from their list on Sunday, there are now just three players on the reserve / COVID-19 list league wide, as things stand at the moment.
That, we had a false alarm on the COVID-19 front, folks, and that’s good news for everyone.
