The New York Jets had 10 false-positive COVID-19 tests come through which forced Adam Gase to cancel a walkthrough.
FLORHAM PARK, NJ—This weekend will not go down in the annals of NFL-COVID-19 history as a glorious success. Several teams were affected by false-positives, including the New York Jets.
The Jets saw 10 false-positives come through on Saturday after not having a single positive test in quite some time. They were forced to close the training center and cancel a Saturday walkthrough.
“We had just started our squad meeting (when) I was informed of it,” Adam Gase told reporters after Sunday’s practice. “Everything happened really fast as far as what was being told to us. Our guys did a great job as far as getting in touch with the league office, following all the right protocols, making sure we were doing all the right things. Our guys (they) jumped on it quick, as soon as we found out.”
BioReference is the New Jersey testing center the NFL partnered with this summer. After the false-positive fiasco, the NFL released a statement Sunday morning.
“Saturday’s daily COVID testing returned several positives tests from each of the clubs serviced by the same laboratory in New Jersey,” the NFL said. “We are working with our testing partner, BioReference, to investigate these results, while the clubs work to confirm or rule out the positive tests.”
Other teams impacted are the Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers. The Browns actually canceled their Sunday practice entirely after the false-positives. They did retest players Sunday.
For Gase and the Jets, it’s simply about remaining flexible.
“I trust our doctors to give me the right information, tell me what I need to do as far as my part of the job,” Gase said. “(I) try to be very flexible and understanding that what if I would have lost a practice today, how would I have handled that, what do I have to move. That was what I spent most of my night trying to figure out last night was, ‘OK, if we lose tomorrow’s practice, what’s our schedule?’
After a spirited practice Sunday morning that featured a couple of scuffles between the big heavies, the Jets plan to come back Monday morning with a lighter touch—a walkthrough.
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