Following new guidelines that were released by the Centers for Disease Control on Monday, the NFL and the NFL Players Association have decided to shorten the isolation time to five days for players who test positive for COVID-19. While the rule applies to both vaccinated and unvaccinated players, it will only come into effect if the player is asymptomatic or proves to have reducing symptoms over the five-day period.

NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills explained during a press conference on Tuesday night that the decision to shorten the COVID isolation time has been backed up by the NFL’s data, which supports the CDC’s recent guidelines announcement.

Sills explained that it’s the CDC’s assessment that people are at a lower risk of spreading the virus five days after their initial positive test. That mirrors what they have been seeing and why they’re supportive and eager to implement this change.

Prior to the new agreement, the NFL required players to produce a negative test in order to exit isolation. This changed, however, after testing proved to be less useful against the omicron strain.

The post NFL, NFLPA Agree to Shortened COVID Isolation Period appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Aaron Rodgers has come out in defense of himself after testing positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, an issue that sees him enter a 10-day quarantine that will prevent him from appearing in the Green Bay Packers’ game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

Considered unvaccinated by both the NFL and the NFL Players Association, Rodgers affirms that he has not lied when it comes to his vaccination status. During an interview, the player stated that he is allergic to one of the ingredients in two of the three approved vaccines—namely those produced by Pfizer and Moderna.

Having undergone a treatment to boost his immunity, Rodgers appealed to NFL to grant him vaccination status. The league declined his request.

When asked about his vaccination status in August, Rodgers insisted that he had indeed been vaccinated against COVID-19.

“First of all, I didn’t lie in the initial press conference,” Rodgers claimed. “And at the time, my plan was to say that I have been immunized. It wasn’t some sort of ruse or lie. It was the truth, and I’ll get into the whole immunization in a second.”

Rodgers has still not clarified what type of immunization treatment he has undergone.

The post Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers Reaffirms Honesty Regarding Vax Status appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Baltimore Ravens will be without four players ahead of their clash with the Detroit Lions on Sunday, due to the concerned players being placed on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list on Friday.

Pro Bowl outside linebacker Justin Houston will be missing from the team sheet, along with outside linebacker Jaylon Ferguson, nose tackle Brandon Williams, and defensive tackle Justin Madubuike.

Ferguson tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, while Houston, Williams, and Madubuike were forced into isolation due to being high-risk close contacts in recent days.

According to NFL guidelines, Ferguson will need to produce two negative COVID-19 test results 24 hours apart in order to avoid a mandatory quarantine if he is vaccinated, so long as he is asymptomatic. If unvaccinated, Ferguson will have no choice but to undergo a 10-day mandatory quarantine.

In the case of close contacts, the NFL stipulated that unvaccinated close contacts would have to stay away from the rest of the team for five days. Vaccinated close contacts are not expected to keep a distance from the team.

Ahead of the Lions game, the Ravens’ defense has been spread thin, with only two healthy outside linebackers (Odafe Oweh and Tyus Bowser) and three defensive linemen (Calais Campbell, Justin Ellis, and Broderick Washington) available for selection.

The post 4 Ravens Players Unavailable Amid COVID-19 Concerns appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Kansas City Chiefs found out on Wednesday that they will be unable to rely on the services of a second offensive who will opt out of the upcoming NFL season due to coronavirus concerns.

Williams, who appeared in 11 games and started 6 for the Chiefs last season, establishing himself as the team’s #1 back down the stretch, informed the team of his decision earlier in the week.

The 28-year-old running back, who is married and has a young daughter, is not known to have any conditions that would qualify him for the higher-paid COVID-19 exemption if he follows through with his decision and doesn’t play this season. His decision may simply be based on the fact that he wants to protect his family from possible infection.

It won’t be easy for Kansas City to replace Williams in its backfield, as the former undrafted free agent put together good work down the stretch and in the playoffs for the defending Super Bowl champions. Williams rushed for 104 yards in the Super Bowl, scoring a touchdown, and also caught 4 passes and contributed a receiving touchdown in his team’s win.

While he was penciled in as the team’s starter at the position this season, the Chiefs will now have to look at secondary options such as first round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire to carry the ball.

The post Chiefs RB Damien Williams to Sit Out 2020 Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The National Football League has reportedly made the decision to halve the length of its traditional four-week long preseason schedule, and will only have its teams play two games to tune up for the 2020 regular season.

While no official announcement has been made, league sources told Pro Football Talk that the league will essentially eliminate Weeks 1 and 4 of the scheduled preseason in order to reduce team travel and contact between players in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

The league currently believes that players will be forced to quarantine for two weeks prior to training camps, which would mean that they would have to enter an isolation bubble as soon as this week had they gone forward with the previously-planned schedule.

Instead, season preparations are set to be packed into a shorter amount of time in order to lesson the burden on the league’s players as well.

All teams are set to play one home game and one road game as part of the modified preseason docket. The first week of games will take place between August 20th and 24th and the second week of games will happen between August 27th and August 31st.

If the current pandemic does not throw a wrench into the NFL’s plans, the regular season is set to kick off on September 10th.

The post NFL Will Reportedly Shorten the 2020 Preseason to 2 Weeks appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Following new guidelines that were released by the Centers for Disease Control on Monday, the NFL and the NFL Players Association have decided to shorten the isolation time to five days for players who test positive for COVID-19. While the rule applies to both vaccinated and unvaccinated players, it will only come into effect if the player is asymptomatic or proves to have reducing symptoms over the five-day period.

NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills explained during a press conference on Tuesday night that the decision to shorten the COVID isolation time has been backed up by the NFL’s data, which supports the CDC’s recent guidelines announcement.

Sills explained that it’s the CDC’s assessment that people are at a lower risk of spreading the virus five days after their initial positive test. That mirrors what they have been seeing and why they’re supportive and eager to implement this change.

Prior to the new agreement, the NFL required players to produce a negative test in order to exit isolation. This changed, however, after testing proved to be less useful against the omicron strain.

The post NFL, NFLPA Agree to Shortened COVID Isolation Period appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Aaron Rodgers has come out in defense of himself after testing positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, an issue that sees him enter a 10-day quarantine that will prevent him from appearing in the Green Bay Packers’ game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

Considered unvaccinated by both the NFL and the NFL Players Association, Rodgers affirms that he has not lied when it comes to his vaccination status. During an interview, the player stated that he is allergic to one of the ingredients in two of the three approved vaccines—namely those produced by Pfizer and Moderna.

Having undergone a treatment to boost his immunity, Rodgers appealed to NFL to grant him vaccination status. The league declined his request.

When asked about his vaccination status in August, Rodgers insisted that he had indeed been vaccinated against COVID-19.

“First of all, I didn’t lie in the initial press conference,” Rodgers claimed. “And at the time, my plan was to say that I have been immunized. It wasn’t some sort of ruse or lie. It was the truth, and I’ll get into the whole immunization in a second.”

Rodgers has still not clarified what type of immunization treatment he has undergone.

The post Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers Reaffirms Honesty Regarding Vax Status appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Baltimore Ravens will be without four players ahead of their clash with the Detroit Lions on Sunday, due to the concerned players being placed on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list on Friday.

Pro Bowl outside linebacker Justin Houston will be missing from the team sheet, along with outside linebacker Jaylon Ferguson, nose tackle Brandon Williams, and defensive tackle Justin Madubuike.

Ferguson tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, while Houston, Williams, and Madubuike were forced into isolation due to being high-risk close contacts in recent days.

According to NFL guidelines, Ferguson will need to produce two negative COVID-19 test results 24 hours apart in order to avoid a mandatory quarantine if he is vaccinated, so long as he is asymptomatic. If unvaccinated, Ferguson will have no choice but to undergo a 10-day mandatory quarantine.

In the case of close contacts, the NFL stipulated that unvaccinated close contacts would have to stay away from the rest of the team for five days. Vaccinated close contacts are not expected to keep a distance from the team.

Ahead of the Lions game, the Ravens’ defense has been spread thin, with only two healthy outside linebackers (Odafe Oweh and Tyus Bowser) and three defensive linemen (Calais Campbell, Justin Ellis, and Broderick Washington) available for selection.

The post 4 Ravens Players Unavailable Amid COVID-19 Concerns appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Kansas City Chiefs found out on Wednesday that they will be unable to rely on the services of a second offensive who will opt out of the upcoming NFL season due to coronavirus concerns.

Williams, who appeared in 11 games and started 6 for the Chiefs last season, establishing himself as the team’s #1 back down the stretch, informed the team of his decision earlier in the week.

The 28-year-old running back, who is married and has a young daughter, is not known to have any conditions that would qualify him for the higher-paid COVID-19 exemption if he follows through with his decision and doesn’t play this season. His decision may simply be based on the fact that he wants to protect his family from possible infection.

It won’t be easy for Kansas City to replace Williams in its backfield, as the former undrafted free agent put together good work down the stretch and in the playoffs for the defending Super Bowl champions. Williams rushed for 104 yards in the Super Bowl, scoring a touchdown, and also caught 4 passes and contributed a receiving touchdown in his team’s win.

While he was penciled in as the team’s starter at the position this season, the Chiefs will now have to look at secondary options such as first round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire to carry the ball.

The post Chiefs RB Damien Williams to Sit Out 2020 Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The National Football League has reportedly made the decision to halve the length of its traditional four-week long preseason schedule, and will only have its teams play two games to tune up for the 2020 regular season.

While no official announcement has been made, league sources told Pro Football Talk that the league will essentially eliminate Weeks 1 and 4 of the scheduled preseason in order to reduce team travel and contact between players in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

The league currently believes that players will be forced to quarantine for two weeks prior to training camps, which would mean that they would have to enter an isolation bubble as soon as this week had they gone forward with the previously-planned schedule.

Instead, season preparations are set to be packed into a shorter amount of time in order to lesson the burden on the league’s players as well.

All teams are set to play one home game and one road game as part of the modified preseason docket. The first week of games will take place between August 20th and 24th and the second week of games will happen between August 27th and August 31st.

If the current pandemic does not throw a wrench into the NFL’s plans, the regular season is set to kick off on September 10th.

The post NFL Will Reportedly Shorten the 2020 Preseason to 2 Weeks appeared first on SportzBonanza.