Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes explains QB room COVID-19 safety protocols
The 2020 NFL season was expected to be different from past years, with the global pandemic ongoing. Recent surges have affected the league schedule, most recently delaying the AFC North division clash between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. Another notable case from Week 12 featured the Chiefs’ opponent this upcoming Sunday, the Denver Broncos, who lost their entire quarterback room the night before a game.
The Broncos are expected to have Drew Lock back for their matchup in Kansas City, but the incident raised flags around the league. Chiefs starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes shared his thoughts on the current team protocols that he follows along with the other Chiefs quarterbacks during Wednesday’s press conference.
”Yeah, I think we do a great job,” said Mahomes. ”We’re actually in a different room than we have been in years past, a much bigger space. It’s kind of where they used to have staff meetings at and so we’re spread out and there’s only a certain number of guys that can be in that room together so that we have the proper amount of distance between each other. Whenever Coach (Andy) Reid or Coach (Eric) Bieniemy comes in there for some of our meetings, we’ll send people out and they’ll virtually meet with us and they’ll still be a part of the virtual part of the experience, but it won’t be where it’s too congested in the room. Even with that, we still wear our masks and do all that different type of stuff, but I mean it’s something you have to stay on top of. Just like not playing a football game, I have Brittany at home who’s pregnant and high-risk, so I try to stay on top of that as much as possible.”
Along with Mahomes, the Chiefs carry quarterbacks Chad Henne and Matt Moore; the latter is currently on the practice squad. Mahomes would go on to explain the room alignment per meeting.
“We have five spots, so there’s four desks and one desk that’s like the main one for the coach to sit at,” Mahomes explained. “So we have five spots and that works whenever it’s just the QB’s and Coach (Mike) Kafka, but obviously when Coach (Eric) Bieniemy and Coach (Andy) Reid come in there we have to send people out.”
The setup the Chiefs currently have seems to be doing a good job of keeping the room safe. Earlier in the season, practice squad QB Jordan Ta’amu tested positive for COVID-19, but his test resulted in no further positive tests, in part because of the diligence of those within the QB room.
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