DrDawkinstein

The number of actual players who have retired this year due to having COVID protocols/vaccinations pushed on them is ZERO. And neither would Buffalo03 if it really came down to it.

As much as I hate to say it... I think the Bills lose a heart breaker to the Browns in the playoffs this year. But stay with me. This is what they need to propel them to their Super Bowl runs over the next 5-6 years. Just like when the Bills lost the AFC Champ to Cincy, then bowed out of the playoffs early the next year to Cleveland thanks to Ronnie Harmon. Then straight dominated for the next handful of years. History repeating. KC, Buffalo, and Cleveland at the top of the AFC is so 1990, and I love it.

Is Derrick Henry throwing the ball?

Well, send that screenshot to Josh and see what he thinks? 🤷‍♂️

Cool story, bro? But also, not really. He took some team friendlier deals later on in his career (the 2nd decade) after he already made $100M+ and the team was cheating by paying for his TB12 stuff on the side. But his first contract after his rookie deal wasnt under value. It was more than Peyton Manning was making, more than Drew Brees was making, and more than Romo was making.

Baker just said this week he is "no hurry" to get his new deal done. I think that means the 3 guys who panned out from the class of '18 (Mayfield, Allen, Jackson) are all waiting to see who flinches first, so they can be last and get the most money of the 3. Might be a while until we see the deal done.

I also don't want to hear the "These guys treat their bodies like temples and dont want to put foreign substances in them", when ALL of the players would jump on whatever new, untested, non-FDA regulated "supplement" comes out that mirrors anything like steroids (which they already know are bad). Remember when Androstenedione hit the market back in 1998? A completely untested, unregulated supplement that acted like a lite anabolic steroid. No one knew what was really in it. Yet almost every baseball, football, and hockey player immediately started taking it. Nevermind the fact that players constantly get hit with PED suspensions.

Thanks! Good news. Glad to see the Bills not mentioned there 👍

Vikings Coach speaks: I've heard it's more like 50-60% unvaccinated on most teams. Maybe that has gotten better with the recent push by all the teams.

And in the Bills defense, they are the team that gave a chance to an undrafted TE, and had Mouse McNally develop him from a Special Teams player, to Right Tackle, to Left Tackle. There should have been some patience there from the Peters camp after everything the Bills did for him. He was in year 2 of a fresh 5 year deal. I think if he would have waited until year 3, things may have gone differently. And this is coming from someone who is all for the players getting as much money as they can, whenever they can.

Well now Im furious.

Emotional response? lol, ok. @eball discrediting her reporting by referring to her as merely a "wannabe IG model" is an insult to someone who has worked in their field as long as she has. There is no emotion from me on that statement.

This is an insultingly low under-estimation of how tied into players, and especially anything having to do with the Philadelphia Eagles, Josina Anderson is. She was the FIRST PERSON Shady talked to when he was traded to the Bills. She always has the inside story from players. She's not 100%, but she is pretty reliable when it comes to this stuff, unlike a lot of other "professionals" out there.

If I had more time on my hands (and any musical talent whatsoever), I'd make a Weird Al version of this called "Everybody Ertz" for these threads. Anyways, fill it in yourself.

Big mistake, imo. But I've also always contended the playoffs are bad for college football as it is. I could maybe see expanding to 6, and someday stretching it to 8. But even that is all too much. 12 just makes the season worthless.

Well at least this is in the right direction...

"Warrior"? Really? They're adults that get paid to play a game and joke around with the boys all week. Let's walk back the "warrior" talk there, Kellen. I took that look as a joke. The angry little kid who wants to go back out to the slides.

We all know what that is code for at this point.

Not really, when you realize the NFLPA's main stance and MO is to not agree to ANYTHING without getting something in return. Even if what they are originally being asked to agree to is in the best interest, and benefit to, the players. To the NFLPA, the NFL asking them to agree to require players to be vaccinated is seen as "the NFL league office simply trying to protect their business and brand by forcing players to inject chemicals into their bodies without their choice". And given the history, part of me doesnt blame them for thinking the NFL would rather "protect the shield" than prioritize player safety. It just so happens that this is a weird situation where the two arent mutually exclusive. So I'm sure the NFLPA would agree to mandating vaccinations... for a higher cut of revenue share, or for less OTAs, or for whatever else they want nowadays. Additionally, the NFLPA supporting a slow return to football last year was because it meant players didnt have to go to OTAs and Camp. Not because it was the right thing to do.

NFLPA. That is the only reason why they cant. There is nothing legally from stopping them. Only the potential labor strike.

Says the guy who missed games with mono... This is the unfortunate attitude I expect from players... "I don’t see me treating Covid until I actually get Covid".. Brilliant...

Continuing the "news around the league" theme... Looks like WFT is still under 50%, and that's probably the norm.

Absolutely. And to your point up-thread, we are going to know pretty quickly which teams have the problems and which dont, when a bunch of teams are having full practices and are back to normal while others are left at a disadvantage and not able to meet in person.

Would be interested to see if/how McD would answer this question, and if he would be as direct and forthcoming as Arians... You have to look more at the specific demographic of the players. There has been a big struggle with convincing the mid-20s crowd to get vaccinated after they were told for the last year that they arent at major risk, and were forced back into schools as if there was no problem. Add in the fact that most NFL players are cocky and think they are completely indestructible, and live outside of normal consequences. edit: Add in the fact that most players get too much info from Twitter (per Ron Rivera), and that compounds the problem. I'd be (pleasantly) surprised if we were even at 50% of players. I'm guessing more like 30% at best.