Thanksgiving weekend seems to have hit the Dallas Cowboys especially hard this year, with a reported eight team members testing positive for COVID-19 upon their return to work, according to ESPN’s Adam Schecter. The Cowboys organization announced Monday morning that their head coach, Mike McCarthy, was the latest to test positive for the virus.
McCarthy’s scheduled Monday morning news conference had to be canceled at the last minute due to the positive result. It has not been reported whether McCarthy, who is fully vaccinated, is suffering from any symptoms of the virus.
As explained by WFAA News, the NFL requires weekly testing for vaccinated players and coaches and daily testing for those who are not vaccinated. However, because of the Thanksgiving weekend and the possibility of larger family gatherings during the holiday, the NFL mandated testing for all team members the first Monday and Wednesday after the holiday as an extra precaution.
If someone on the team is vaccinated, he may return to the team if he gets two negative tests within 24 hours, but unvaccinated team members must sit out for a full ten days, according to league protocol.
Due to the positive COVID-19 results, McCarthy will not be at the game in person in New Orleans on Thursday night, Fox 4 reported. There has been no public statement yet as to who will fill his coaching ‘shoes’ on the sidelines during the game.
A statement released by the team noted that “Although he will not be on the field for the Saints game, McCarthy will continue to direct, and be involved in, all meetings and game preparations on a virtual basis for the remainder of the week, including Thursday’s meetings in New Orleans.”
The Cowboys have been dealing with a number of COVID-19 cases. ESPN stated that the team has been hit harder by the virus this season than last year. “There are up to eight positives in Dallas. Details still rolling in,” ESPN reported.
Due to the COVID-19 protocols that the Cowboys have in place, others from the team are out as well. Terence Steele, the starting offensive tackle, reported that he has also tested positive.
Offensive line coach Joe Philbin, Assistant offensive line coach Jeff Blasko, strength and conditioning coordinator Harold Nash, and assistant strength and conditioning coach Kendall Smith have all tested positive for COVID-19.
Terence Steele will be the only player for the Dallas Cowboys who will not be playing in Thursday’s game due to COVID-19. Amari Cooper, the wide receiver, has recently recovered from the virus and is expected to join his team against the Saints.
Cooper has missed two games. Running back coach Skip Peete has also recovered from COVID-19 and missed the game against the Atlanta Falcons on November 14.
According to ESPN, “McCarthy would be the fourth head coach to miss a game while in COVID-19 protocols since last season.”
The other head coaches that have missed a game this season are Kevin Stefanski of the Cleveland Browns, Kliff Kingsbury of the Arizona Cardinals, and Matt Nagy of the Chicago Bears.