The Arizona Cardinals recently were one of the team with the four lowest vaccination rates in the NFL. They only recently went past the 50% mark ion the roster.
That number has jumped significantly. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, they now are among the teams that have at least 90 percent of the roster vaccinated against COVID-19.
He tweeted that the number of unvaccinated players can be counted on one hand.
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury told reporters this week that progress was being made and noted they “definitely see that headed in the right direction.”
They have, indeed, made progress.
Players who are fully vaccinated are not subject to the strict 2020 protocols for players and the league has considered relaxing restrictions for teams who are over 85% vaccinated.
Those who are not vaccinated must stay in their hotel room on road trips. They must wear a mask everywhere except when practicing. There are limits to the weight room. They cannot eat in the cafeteria with their teammates and must test daily for the virus.
With virtually the whole roster vaccinated, the team will be able to do more things together during training camp and it will no longer be a storyline to follow. Now we can focus on football instead of vaccines.
The Cardinals currently have three players on the COVID reserve.
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