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It will come as a surprise to no one to learn that Buffalo Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley, the NFL’s most outspoken anti-vaxxer, has tested positive for COVID-19, as confirmed by reporter Ian Rapoport.
Beasley, who’s proudly unvaccinated, will not be privy to the benefits vaccinated players receive from the NFL when it comes to returning to play. Whether he’s showing symptoms or not, because he tested positive and is not vaccinated, Beasley will be out for a minimum of 10 days.
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The timing of Beasley’s positive test couldn’t be worse. In five days, the Bills face the New England Patriots in their most important regular-season game of the year. The winner on Sunday decides who earns the top spot in the AFC East, successfully punching their team’s ticket into the postseason.
Earlier this season, Beasley said he would rather die than get vaccinated, and deleted his Twitter account due to the intense backlash he received online.
It seems Beasley’s defense plan, “to take my chances with Covid and build up my immunity that way. Eat better. Drink water. Exercise and do what I think is necessary to be a healthy individual,” didn’t pan out.
And this exact scenario — having one of the Bills’ most reliable receivers unavailable for a season-defining game — was the crux of the ire against Beasley for choosing to remain unvaccinated.
While Beasley couldn’t respond on Twitter, he took to Instagram to speak his thoughts on his situation, blaming the NFL’s rules and guidelines for sidelining him against the Patriots.
Beasley captioned the post, “I am feeling fine with mild symptoms. Thank you for the support. I look forward to being back out there with my teammates soon.”
NFL Fans & Analysts Had Strong Reactions to Beasley Testing Positive for COVID-19
Fans and analysts were understandably upset with Beasley’s defiant stance against scientific research and shared their frustrations on Twitter.
One Bills fan tweeted with sarcasm, “If only there was something he could have done to reduce his odds of contracting covid, reduce the amount of time he’ll miss, and reduce the odds of severe symptoms. Poor Guy.”
For detractors tweeting about how numerous vaccinated NFL players have experienced breakthrough cases, “You’re right, Cole Beasley might have gotten covid anyway if he was vaccinated,” another Bills fan tweeted. “However, he would have had a CHANCE (negative tests) to return for the NE game if vaxxed. By being unvaxxed, the NFL won’t let him return for 10 days at minimum. So yes, he is partially culpable.”
The Bills Now Have 5 Active Roster Players on the Reserve/COVID-19 List
Beasley joined the Bills’ ever-growing list of players on the Reserve/Covid-19 list. Other members from Buffalo’s active roster include offensive linemen Dion Dawkins and Jon Felician, defensive end A.J. Eepenesa, and linebacker Tyrel Dodson.
Both Dodson, Feliciano, and Dawkins have confirmed they were vaccinated, therefore, they could all possibly be activated in time to play the Patriots on December 26.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott said on Monday, “The hope would be Dion comes back before Jon [Dawkins was placed on list first] but we just don’t know yet,” WKBW’s Matthew Bove tweeted.
As for the Bills practice squad, offensive lineman Bobby Hart and defensive end Mike Love were both placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday.
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