Getty Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills celebrates with WRs Cole Beasley and Stefon Diggs
Cole Beasley isn’t done talking about COVID-19, this time sharing a shocking revelation about one of his Buffalo Bills teammates.
Beasley has attracted some viral attention — and plenty of pushback — for his vocal opposition to getting vaccinated. Though he has spoken about stepping away from social media, Beasley returned to the fray this week when he opened up about the plight of a vaccinated teammate.
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Beasley Reveals Positive Test
This week, Beasley once again took to social media to discuss his stance on the vaccine, revealing that one of his fully vaccinated teammates actually tested positive for COVID-19 this week.
“I’ve already had a teammate who was vaccinated be sent home for covid yesterday,” Beasley tweeted. “Luckily he caught it on Monday. Cause if it was Tuesday he would’ve given it to everyone for a whole week before being tested again.”
Someone on the #Bills was sent home for a positive COVID-19 test result, per Cole Beasley: t.co/0eIfE550Ng
Beasley’s tweet was the first that fans heard about this news — the Bills had not announced any positive tests, and no players had shared this information with fans. As SB Nation’s Matt Warren noted, Beasley appeared to be going against the team’s decision to keep player vaccination status and COVID-19 tests within the locker room.
“What’s interesting here is that captains Josh Allen and Tremaine Edmunds said the players on the team were going to keep coronavirus-related information within the locker room when they spoke with the media at minicamp,” Warren noted. “Beasley seems to be going out of his way to subvert that with his public comments to spill the tea. It violates the locker room privacy but also this individual player’s privacy.”
It is also rare for a fully vaccinated person to test positive for COVID-19, though not unheard of. A handful of vaccinated athletes have lost time after positive tests, including a number of New York Yankees players.
Beasley Could be in Hot Water
The All-Pro wide receiver has been stirring up controversy for several weeks as he engages in social media spats and defends his opposition to getting the shot. While it’s not clear if his latest revelation may have rubbed teammates the wrong way, some insiders have already speculated that Beasley may be in hot water and his roster spot in jeopardy.
Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News speculated about the veterans who could be cut before the end of training camp, noting that Beasley could be one of those getting a pink slip. He pointed out that cutting Beasley would save the Bills $5.341 million in cap space for next season, leaving what Skurski called “reasonable” dead-money hits of $2 million and $1.5 million over the next two years.
What #Bills head coach Sean McDermott said about Cole Beasley’s prior COVID-19 vaccine comments: t.co/8kcNrXMU5F
Bills head coach Sean McDermott has been open about his desire to get players vaccinated, saying it would bring some competitive advantages like the ability to hold full practices and team meetings without the onerous restrictions that were in place last season. McDermott echoed the sentiments of Allen and Edmunds to respect the decision of players, but said he wanted to see more getting vaccinated.
“I would like to see our team move in that direction. Continue to move and increase the number of people that are getting vaccinated. Certainly respect everyone’s position, that being said,” McDermott said on a video conference during the team’s mini-camp.
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