#Cole Beasley infuriated with NFL’s ‘crazy’ new COVID-19 policies

Cole Beasley is ticked off by the NFL’s latest COVID-19 protocols.

On Wednesday, the NFL and NFLPA released updated guidelines for the upcoming training camp and preseason. While fully vaccinated players will benefit from a drastic ease in restrictions, unvaccinated players will remain heavily limited in their activity. 

Beasley, a 10-year NFL veteran entering his third season with the Bills, took exception to the announcement. 

“This is crazy,” Beasley wrote in a Twitter thread. “Did we vote on this? I stay in the hotel. We still have meetings. We will all be together. Vaccinated players can go out the hotel and bring covid back to where I am. So what does it matter if I stay in the hotel now? 100 percent immune with vaccination? No.

“The player association is a joke. Call it something different. It’s not for the players. Everyone gives me the 98 percent of people who are vaccinated don’t get covid again. The odds of me getting in the NFL and playing for 10 years are lower than that and I’m here. 

“So what are we really talking about? I understand completely why the NFL is doing this. It gives them back the freedom to make the most money as possible again if everyone is vaccinated. But will anyone fight for the players or nah?”

Fully vaccinated players are no longer required to undergo daily testing, wear masks or adhere to physical distancing in team facilities. They are also allowed to interact with vaccinated family members and friends on road trips. 

Players who are not yet fully vaccinated must still follow a host of restrictions, including mandatory mask-wearing, testing, quarantining and distancing. 

This is not the first time that Beasley has been outspoken about vaccine-related issues. In May, he responded to a CNN story detailing how fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks outdoors, saying, “I do that without being vaccinated. Is that illegal now?”

Vaccinations have emerged as a divisive talking point throughout the NFL in recent months. In May, Bills coach Sean McDermott admitted he was “concerned” about the potential rift between vaccinated and unvaccinated players.

Earlier last month, Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane said that it would “be an advantage” to cut an unvaccinated player in order to meet the NFL’s minimum-threshold of vaccinated individuals, which would allow the team to do away with most restrictions. The NFL later phoned Beane, according to ESPN, to inform him that a team cannot release a player due to his vaccination status.

Beasley, 32, recorded a career-high 82 catches and 967 yards last season in Buffalo, helping lead the Bills to the playoffs.