Unvaccinated Colts quarterback Carson Wentz has COVID at the worst possible time, maybe knocking him out for Indianapolis’ Week 17 matchup against the Raiders.
The Colts are 9-6 and currently sitting in the first AFC wild card spot, but four teams are right there at 8-7, including the Raiders.
NFL players who have not received a coronavirus vaccine had been required to isolate for 10 days after testing positive but those protocols changed in light of the federal government revising its guidance down to five days of isolation regardless of vaccination status.
The league and players union agreed Tuesday to cut the isolation period down to five days for players whose symptoms are “resolved or improved,” according to NFL Network. That would mean that Wentz is eligible to play Sunday if any symptoms he has clear up by then.
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The omicron variant is tearing through the NFL right now, with two teams’ worth of players testing positive for COVID on Monday alone.
Wentz’s COVID case also comes the week after he took enough snaps to clinch sending Indy’s first-round draft pick to the Eagles.
Several of the Colts’ best players are among the less than 10% of NFL players who are unvaccinated. Guard Quenton Nelson and linebacker Darius Leonard missed Saturday’s surprising win over the Cardinals because they are unvaccinated and positive for the virus.
Wentz said he was unvaxxed at the start of the season and told reporters that “For me, nothing has changed,” before the Week 16 win.
“I’m weighing every pro and con out there. It keeps me up at night, and a lot of things go on inside my head,” he said of the vaccine before the season began, “but it’s where we’re at right now.”
ARIANS OUT
Bucs coach Bruce Arians said Tuesday that he tested positive for COVID and has “mild symptoms.” Arians, a 69-year-old cancer survivor, could miss Sunday’s matchup against the Jets in New Jersey, although he could test negative before the game. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni tested positive on Dec. 22 and was able to return to coach a blowout win over the Giants on Dec. 26.