Yahoo Finance Richard Sherman doesn't envision a COVID-19 scenario that would shut down NFL
Richard Sherman has lashed out at the NFL’s COVID-19 plans.
Now he’s convinced the NFL will go through with the 2020 season no matter what.
The outspoken San Francisco 49ers cornerback told Pro Football Focus during an Instagram Live session Monday that he doesn’t see the NFL shutting the season down because of the pandemic.
“I don’t see the league saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to shut down if 10 people get it, 15 people get it, 50 people get it,’” Sherman said, per the San Jose Mercury-News. “I see them saying, ‘Hey, remove those people, replace them with new people and continue the game.”
Sherman’s been critical of league’s COVID-19 planning
Sherman has supported the league moving forward this fall, but has criticized the NFL’s plans for COVID-19 safety. He did last week so alongside several other players who were vocal about the league’s preparations.
The NFL has ignored the safety recommendations from the experts that THEY hired. We all love this game and want to go out and compete with our brothers. The NFL needs to provide a safe work environment for us to do that. #WeWantToPlay
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) July 19, 2020
The league and the NFLPA have since agreed upon testing protocols ahead of the opening of training camp. But Sherman remains skeptical that the league will make COVID-19 a priority over completion of the season. He laid out several scenarios in which he envisioned the league continuing amid outbreaks.
‘Forfeit the game ... keep moving forward’
His predictions arrived on the same day MLB vowed to carry on amid a COVID-19 outbreak among Miami Marlins players and coaches less than a week into the start of its season.
Sherman anticipates a similar response from the NFL.
“If half a team gets it, forfeit the game, and next game keep moving forward. That’s the way I see them finishing.”
That pretty much sums up MLB’s response to the Marlins’ outbreak. The league canceled Monday’s Marlins home opener against the Baltimore Orioles and carried on with its season.
Meanwhile, Sherman predicts that the football that is played to be a subpar product rife with injury.
“This isn’t going to be the prettiest football,” Sherman continued. “This is going to be a year you see some high interception numbers, some high injury numbers. ... The league still doesn’t know how practice is going to go and we’re about to head in.”
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