LA Rams Andrew Whitworth tests positive for COVID-19

As we continue to project “what if” scenarios, LA Rams Andrew Whitworth and family tested positive for COVID-19

As we continue to assemble the jigsaw puzzle of the LA Rams 2020 NFL season scenario, clues about what can and will happen from the moment training camp begins are continuing to trickle in.  It’s a large picture, as there are so many factors all lining up to have a role in what will take place. We know the financial impacts of the 2020 NFL season can play a huge role in the 2020 NFL salary cap, as well as the 2021 NFL salary cap. We know that a team’s roster can be ultimately devastated if key players test positive for COVID-19 during the season.  And we even know that NFL players will be given an opt-out option as to whether they will participate in such an uncertain environment.

But as each new piece of the puzzle arrives, more questions surface.  What will the Rams do if this player or that player tests positive?  What will the Rams do if this player to that player is unable to suit up for a month?  Who will be the next player to test positive?

Big Whit with a big surprise

Well, we know the answer to the third question at least.  LA Rams veteran and best offensive lineman, Andrew Whitworth, has reportedly tested positive for COVID-19. Per The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrique, Big Whit and his entire family tested positive for COVID-19 during the last month and had been in close contact with Rams head coach Sean McVay.  McVay was tested as a precaution, and the results of that testing proved negative.

While this is not the season, this demonstrates what may happen as soon as the NFL opens the gate to training camps all across the nation.  COVID-19 can be deadly.  But it can also go unnoticed. Persons who test positive for the disease without symptoms can infect others.  So the consensus protocol for giving someone the “all’s clear” so far seems to be two weeks of quarantine after a positive test. Then, another two consecutive weeks of negative testing without symptoms.  That’s up to a month from a positive test to back in a football uniform.  That may vary as formal protocols are adopted, but it highlights the devastating impact NFL teams face this season trying to manage a roster that changes constantly.

Andrew Whitworth may not be clear by the time training camp arrives, but more importantly, can the Rams compensate for the next player to test positive? Will some players consider the risk too great? Those answers will come tomorrow.