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While a majority of the questions surrounding the upcoming NFL season revolve around fans being allowed in the stadium and health and safety guidelines that could be implemented for players on the field, the ‘what if a player tests positive question’ has flown under the radar a bit.
According to Pro Football Talk, the NFL and NFL Players Association have already reached an agreement regarding what the procedure will be for any player that tests positive for coronavirus.
The NFL’s injured reserve list has plenty of rules attached to it, and now the league will be creating a specific coronavirus classification. Players who test positive will have to be placed on the list for three weeks which would open up a roster spot to be filled by a player who has not tested positive.
It’s unclear what will happen if a player on the COVID-19 list can’t return after three weeks, at which time he will be eligible to return to practice. He must be returned to the active roster within three weeks after that, or he will revert to IR (absent an injury settlement).
Players that are placed on the injured reserve list will be paid their normal salaries.
It’s worth noting that these details aren’t finalized, that decision will come down to the league’s owners voting on the measures that could be taken.
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Mark is an associate editor at BroBible. Follow him on Twitter @ItIsMarkHarris for the occasional good tweet. Feel free to contact him at Mark@BroBible.com.