Baker Mayfield blasts NFL over COVID protocols

Baker Mayfield is not happy with the NFL's handling of COVID protocols. Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

Baker Mayfield criticizes NFL over COVID policies: 'Make up your damn mind on protocols'

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 12/16/21

Cleveland quarterback Baker Mayfield is not happy with the NFL’s handling of COVID protocols amid the Browns’ current increase in cases.

In a series of tweets, Mayfield criticized the NFL for its policies on testing players and perceived inconsistency in doing so. The NFL will continue daily testing for teams currently in intensive protocols due to an ongoing increase in cases, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, but other teams will not be subject to daily testing. This irked Mayfield, who accused the NFL of selective application of protocols to ensure that the Browns game goes on “to make money.”

@NFL Make up your damn mind on protocols. Showing up and making only 3 teams test?!? All so you can keep the game as scheduled to make money.

— Baker Mayfield (@bakermayfield) December 16, 2021

Actually caring about player safety would mean delaying the game with this continuing at the rate it is….
But to say you won’t test vaccinated players if they don’t have symptoms, then to pull this randomly. Doesn’t make any sense to me.

— Baker Mayfield (@bakermayfield) December 16, 2021

Twenty Browns players have tested positive for COVID this week, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. That has prompted some to call for Saturday’s game against the Raiders to be postponed, but the NFL has refused to do so thus far. That is clearly at the heart of Mayfield’s complaint. In his mind, it does not make sense to apply a different set of rules to the Browns due to a case increase, and it’s only being done so that the league does not have to postpone the game and lose money.

Mayfield is among the Browns who have tested positive, but he is not experiencing symptoms. In the future, he will have a quicker path forward to be cleared, but it comes too late to matter for Saturday’s game.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: