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Todd Gurley doesn't think NFL will finish season amid COVID-19 pandemic: 'I don’t see how'

A lot of folks are skeptical about the NFL’s plans to pull of a season amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Count Todd Gurley among them.

The new Atlanta Falcons running back weighed in on the the NFL’s plans — or lack thereof — to maintain player safety amid the pandemic in an interview on CBS Sports’ Tiki and Tierney.

He’s not impressed.

‘There’s not really a proper plan’

“It’s really not structured right to be honest,” Gurley said of the league’s plan. “There’s not really a proper plan in place that I’m comfortable with.

“A guy like me — I don’t have a wife. I don’t have any kids. You have to look at guys on the other side who have pregnant wives — kids and a wife they go home to every single day.”

Players blasted NFL’s lack of planning

Several players including Houston Texans pass rusher J.J. Watt and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson criticized the league last week for not having a COVID-19 protocol in place just days before rookies were scheduled to report to training camp.

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Wilson, as Gurley alluded to, mentioned going home to his pregnant wife.

NFL’s response

The NFL responded on Monday with concessions to cancel the preseason and a plan to test players daily for the first two weeks of training camp and until the positive rate among players and staff drops below five percent.

There’s also a plan to install face shields on helmets to limit transmission. But those shields will reportedly be voluntary, leaving player safety on the field up to the whims of colleagues.

Gurley thinks it’s too little too late.

“I just feel like we need to come up with something a lot better than what they’ve given us,” Gurley said. “Everything they gave us is pretty last minute. We should have been able to have answers weeks ago if not months ago.”

Todd Gurley looks on from the bench.
Todd Gurley delivered a blunt assessment of the NFL's COVID-19 plan. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

Dire COVID-19 outlook for fall

As the NFL moves forward without any official acknowledgment that this fall might be too dangerous to play football, COVID-19 continues to grow in the United States, including hot spots in NFL cities like Houston, Miami, New Orleans and Phoenix.

As of Thursday, the United States laid claim to four million of the world’s 15.3 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 144,032 of the world’s confirmed 626,357 coronavirus deaths.

If things don’t get better before the fall — and there’s no indication that they will — Gurley’s not denying that football may not be feasible.

“You have to be prepared to not play or be prepared to have half a season,” Gurley said. “If they don’t do things right, we won’t have a full season. ...

“Hopefully, everything goes well, but I don’t see how. It just doesn’t sit well right now.”

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