The NFL has plans to eliminate some restrictions from its current COVID-19 protocols for vaccinated players, coaches and personnel.
In a memo sent to the 32 teams Wednesday and obtained by The Associated Press, the league detailed potential amendments to the protocols used throughout the 2020 season and current offseason. Among the elements that could be eliminated are the need to participate in daily testing; quarantine periods due to close contact with an infected individual; and/or refraining from social gatherings among other vaccinated individuals.
“It is also anticipated that clubs that achieve a certain rate of vaccination among its tiered staff and players may be permitted to relax restrictions that apply to meetings, meal time and use of locker rooms,” the memo said.
On Tuesday, after the first of two days of virtual meetings among the team owners, Commissioner Roger Goodell noted the value of pursuing coronavirus vaccines.
“We will be encouraging all personnel to get vaccinated and working with the players association on all these issues,” Goodell said. “We are also using our platforms publicly to talk about the importance of getting vaccinations.”
Goodell also mentioned the hope that the 2021 season will be fully attended by fans. That would be subject to local COVID-19 rules and protocols.
DESHAUN WATSON: Two more women sued Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson on Wednesday over accusations he harassed and assaulted them during massages.
The lawsuits, filed in Harris County District Court in Houston, accused Watson of exposing himself to a massage therapist in Houston and then forcing her to perform oral sex on him, and of harassing another woman in Arizona and abruptly ending a massage when she refused to gratify him. The two new lawsuits brings the total number of women who sued Watson over allegations of acting improperly with them during massage sessions to 21.
Watson has steadfastly denied acting inappropriately with women as allegations have mounted since the first lawsuits were filed in mid-March. On Wednesday, his attorney, Rusty Hardin, released the statements of 18 massage therapists who, he claimed, voiced support for Watson, and said the NFL star never acted improperly with them.
Watson has not been charged with a crime over these allegations, and it’s unclear if any law enforcement agency in Texas has opened an investigation. Tony Buzbee, the attorney for the accusers, initially claimed he would deliver evidence to the Houston Police Department to help spur a criminal investigation. However, on late Tuesday night Buzbee wrote on Instagram that he and his clients had decided not to cooperate with Houston police because Thomas Hardin, the son of Watson’s attorney, is a member of the force.
“I support his service, along with all Houston police officers,” Buzbee wrote. “But … me and my clients will go elsewhere to provide our evidence to investigative authorities.”
SEAHAWKS: Tyler Lockett is sticking around with the Seattle Seahawks, and likely as Russell Wilson’s favorite target, for the foreseeable future. The Seahawks and Lockett have agreed to a four-year contract extension that includes $37 million guaranteed, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
ESPN first reported the deal, which could be worth more than $69 million over the life of the contract. The deal locks up Wilson’s favorite target from each of the past two seasons and will likely help Seattle in its attempts to ease a salary cap crunch for the 2021 season. Lockett’s current contract was set to expire after this season and carried a salary cap charge of just under $15 million.
Lockett, 28, is coming off a career-best season with 100 receptions for 1,054 yards and 10 touchdowns. He teamed with DK Metcalf to become just the second pair of Seattle receivers to each have 1,000 yards in the same season. The Seahawks had an explosive passing game early in the season that fizzled badly over the second half of the year.
Lockett twice had games last season with double-digit receptions, including a career-high 15 catches for 200 yards and three touchdowns against Arizona.
BILLS: The Buffalo Bills added linebacker depth by signing Tyrell Adams and Marquel Lee to one-year contracts.
Adams has five seasons of NFL experience after spending the past three with the Houston Texans. He enjoyed a career-high 12 starts in 16 games in which he had two sacks and was credited with 122 tackles. He spent his first two seasons with the Oakland Raiders.
Adams had a brief stint in Buffalo when the Bills claimed him off waivers in October 2017 before releasing him five days later.
Lee has three seasons of NFL experience with the Raiders from 2017-19. He was cut by the Raiders last summer after failing his physical and did not play last year. Selected by the Raiders in the fifth round of the 2017 draft, Lee had 19 starts in 36 games.
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