Getty Henry Ruggs & Rico Gafford of the Las Vegas Raiders.
This year has been unprecedented for the NFL due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Top players have had to miss games and games have had to be postponed. This past week, things have gotten very dicey for the NFL. The Baltimore Ravens have had a large outbreak of COVID-19 throughout their team which has caused the game to be delayed a number of times.
However, the Denver Broncos had to play a game on Sunday without a single true quarterback on their roster due to the disease. The fact that the NFL postponed the Ravens game but made the Broncos play didn’t sit well with some around the league. Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Rico Gafford has no love for Denver but he called the NFL for their questionable decisions.
They’re postponing the hell outta this Ravens vs Steelers game but made the Broncos go out there without a QB… 🤦🏾♂️
The two situations aren’t necessarily the same but the Broncos do have a right to be irritated with how the NFL handled their game. With no quarterback on the roster, they got blown out.
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Raiders Have Had Issues With NFL Over COVID-19
The Raiders are a team that has had a lot of issues with the NFL over COVID-19. They had one week where their entire offensive line missed practice and the league moved their game up a few hours. A different time, most of the defense missed practice and the Raiders didn’t get their game postponed. Regardless of what has happened, the NFL hasn’t helped Las Vegas very much.
That said, not every situation is the same. If the NFL thought that the Ravens versus Steelers game could’ve been played, they probably would’ve moved forward with it. However, there was a lot of risk in potentially letting Baltimore play. The outbreak for them was already big enough and they didn’t need to spread it to Pittsburgh. Also, the Ravens could be getting hit with a very stiff penalty by the league. The Raiders already lost a draft pick and a lot of money. It’s hard to imagine the Ravens don’t see a similar penalty thrown their way.
Trent Brown Returning to Practice
The Raiders also have their own set of COVID-19 related issues. They’ve had several important players miss time because of the disease. Trent Brown is probably the player who has been most affected. He’s only played in one full game all season. Luckily, he should be back to practice soon.
“I don’t believe he’ll be playing in this game, but just to get him back out there is a big lift for our team,” head coach Jon Gruden said Monday. “We think [Lamarcus] Joyner will be back. We think Cle Ferrell has got a chance to really get himself ready to play this week, and we’ll see about David Irving. … But, yeah, signs are good with Trent.”
The Raiders were missing a lot of pieces this past Sunday and it showed in a blowout loss to the Atlanta Falcons. With a number of guys set to return soon, the team should be getting a good boost.
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