While some NFL coaches have used their platform to argue passionately for players to get vaccinated, the Bears’ Matt Nagy has been more muted.
“You have 90 players that all have opinions for different reasons on what they want to do for the team and what they want to do for themselves,” he said Thursday. “You see some head coaches are a little more vocal than others. Nothing wrong with that. Some you don’t see say a word about it. Nothing wrong with that.”
Nagy repeated what he has said since the release of the vaccine: The Bears simply explain the benefits to players and their families and let them decide whether to get one.
The coronavirus already has affected training camp. The team put nose tackle Eddie Goldman, long snapper Patrick Scales, linebacker Christian Jones and tackle Elijah Wilkinson on the reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday. Wilkinson is not vaccinated. It’s unclear if the other three are.
Asked whether the results could have been a false positive — which would yield a shorter time away — Nagy said he couldn’t talk about specifics.
Since July 25, teams have tested 2,528 players and 4,549 staff members, the NFLPA said Wednesday. Of the 65 positive cases, 32 were among vaccinated people.
The NFL has two sets of rules. Vaccinated players who test positive can return any time after two negative tests, while unvaccinated players must isolate for 10 days. Vaccinated players don’t have to isolate if they are ruled a high-risk close contact, while unvaccinated players must isolate for five days after a close contact.
Nagy stressed that “we are not back to 2019” when it comes to protocols at Halas Hall.
“This isn’t just a football thing,” Nagy said. “This worldwide thing that I think we gotta all recognize is still going pretty [strong].”
