The Patriots don’t possess many advantages over the Bills when it comes to player talent. But there is one area in which New England is seemingly ahead: division over player vaccinations.
The first week of NFL training camps has been filled with jarring statements from some players about their refusals to get vaccinated. The ugliest remarks came from ex-safety T.J. Ward (yes, that T.J. Ward), who seemingly blamed Washington coach Ron Rivera for getting skin cancer.
But if we’re talking about active players, Cole Beasley is probably the leader when it comes to obtuse remarks. On Wednesday, he attempted to clarify his stance as “pro-choice.”
It didn’t go so well.
The Patriots, meanwhile, don’t have any of vaccine-related drama. Bill Belichick said this week “most” Patriots players are “probably" fully vaccinated.
That was that.
I don’t intend to get bogged down in the debate over anti-vaxxers, though that’s probably a futile effort. Fair or not, the NFL has put teams with large numbers of unvaccinated players at a significant disadvantage. The league says if unvaccinated players are responsible for an outbreak that results in a cancellation, their team will forfeit if the contest isn’t rescheduled.
Now, Beasley looks like an outlier. Bills general manager Brandon Beane says at least 80 percent of players in training camp have received at least vaccine dose.
It’s worth noting, however, that Bills safety Jordan Poyer has come to Beasley’s defense — and refused to disclose whether he’s vaccinated himself. Josh Allen has previously said he’s undecided on whether to get inoculated.
Forfeiting one game in an 18-week season would be calamitous for any NFL team. Then there’s the whole locker room division component.
Beasley could be separating himself from his teammates.
Already, he got into a Twitter tussle with Jerry Hughes over his stance on vaccines. Stefon Diggs and Emmanuel Sanders also seem to be pressuring Beasley. The two wideouts recently posted messages on social media centered around personal responsibility.
“Accountability … availability,” Diggs said.
This week, Bills head coach Sean McDermott said he doesn’t expect the vaccine debate to cause discord in the locker room. But that cohesion could burst over the season if an important player — let’s say Beasley — misses important games due to a severe case of Covid-19.
The point is, vaccine divisiveness doesn’t make winning any easier. Belichick always stamps out unnecessary distractions. This is another example of that.
