TAMPA, Fla. — With the preseason finished, the Buccaneers players have four days away from the team facility before beginning preparations for Dallas on Sept. 9.
With COVID-19 an obvious concern, head coach Bruce Arians is worried.
"Well, the virus issue is concerning because everybody has very, very mild symptoms – things that you wouldn't miss a day of work with in your life. But now you're out 10 days. So that's got me concerned that it can be transmitted that easily. I may sneeze and I test positive. That's the biggest concern for me right now."
Ndamukong Suh became the fourth Bucs player to land on the Reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday afternoon, but Earl Watford shows how quickly one can be removed from the list after testing negatively twice, 24 hours apart, in two days.
When the team returns to One Buc Place, there is an important conversation to be had about how the team wants to handle the virus.
"Our guys are very, very aware of the situation and they're willing to do whatever it takes to make sure it doesn't affect our team," Arians said.
The NFL actually wants testing for vaccinated players to increase from every 14 days to every seven days. The NFLPA needs to approve the proposal, but Arians says he does not think this will help.
"I was fine with the other protocols. If your team is 100% vaccinated, I don't know why you have to test at all."
As of August 26, nearly 93% of NFL players are, at least, partially vaccinated, according to NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills. Staff members have been nearly 100% vaccinated since the start of training camp.
Tampa Bay's management of the virus in 2020 is a big reason why the squad won a Super Bowl.
Arians has no problems setting stricter rules, but that will mostly happen on the road. He is still trusting his players at home.
"Here? No, that will be a personal thing. Our guys are very, very smart on who to be with, where to be and how to handle themselves. Whether or not they go to restaurants and those type of things, we'll talk about that at a later date."
The Bucs should have all of its projected starters playing in the season opener on Sept. 9, but Arians alludes to, nothing is promised.
"These four days off and retesting now with the new protocol, who knows?"