Yahoo Finance Lions QB Matthew Stafford seen working out with teammates as coronavirus cases continue to spike
The NFL Players Association asked players last week to stop working out with each other due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford either didn’t get the message, or simply doesn’t care.
Stafford hit the practice field with teammates Jamal Agnew, Jesse James and Nick Bawden on Thursday, his wife Kelly shared on her Instagram story, per the Detroit Free Press.
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“It just feels good to be sitting my butt on a football field and watching,” she wrote, via the Free Press. “Couldn’t imagine how good it feels for these guys.”
The Lions shared a video of Stafford and the others working out a few hours later, too.
QB1 back at it pic.twitter.com/5s7ljKK0T8
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) June 25, 2020
There were more than 2.4 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States as of Friday night, according to The New York Times, and nearly 125,000 deaths attributed to it. The country set a new single-day case record on both Wednesday and Thursday, too, when it surpassed more than 41,000 cases. Several states — many with one or more NFL teams like Florida and California — set individual records, too.
Michigan had nearly 70,000 confirmed cases, less than 500 of which were reported on Thursday.
Though the league insisted that training camps will start on time, NFLPA medical director Dr. Thom Mayer officially asked players to stop working out together last week until those start.
"Please be advised that it is our consensus medical opinion that in light of the increase in COVID-19 cases in certain states that no players should be engaged in practicing together in private workouts," Mayer wrote. "Our goal is to have all players and your families as healthy as possible in the coming months.
"We are working on the best mitigation procedures at team facilities for both training camps and the upcoming season, and believe that it is in the best interest of all players that we advise against any voluntary joint practices before training camp commences."
The league can recommend players not workout, however it can’t legally stop them from doing so.
Now Stafford isn’t the only quarterback in the league to go against the NFLPA’s recommendation. Far from it. Even Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady kept working out with his teammates, and posted a picture to his Instagram story on Friday despite the massive spike of coronavirus cases in Florida.
“Only thing we have to fear, is fear itself,” Brady wrote, invoking the famous President Franklin Delano Roosevelt quote.
While it’s understandable that Stafford and others want to work out, it’s undoubtedly a tough look — especially given the sharp rise in cases the country has seen this week.
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