NFL teams taking extra precautions beyond COVID-19 protocols

By ROB MAADDI
AP Pro Football Writer

NFL coaches are taking precautions beyond the league’s COVID-19 protocols to help ensure players are available for games. Several teams are separating quarterbacks, holding virtual meetings and doing whatever it takes to avoid breakouts of the virus. Green Bay, Washington, Baltimore, Chicago and New Orleans have played without starting quarterbacks due to COVID-19. Other key players have also missed important games in recent weeks. The league and the NFL Players Association revised protocols on Tuesday, reducing isolation time for players who test positive for COVID-19 and are asymptomatic, including unvaccinated players, to five days from 10.