Vikings coach says ‘unvaccinated players are going to have a harder time in the season’

Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer on Wednesday said he thinks that players who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19 will have a harder time getting through the upcoming season.

“The unvaccinated players are going to have a harder time in the season,” Zimmer said during a press conference. 

The NFL sent out a memo to their teams on Wednesday lifting their COVID-19 restrictions for vaccinated players, while for unvaccinated players those prior restrictions will still be in place. 

Zimmer told reporters that players on his team who haven’t gotten their COVID-19 vaccines will still have to go through daily testing and won’t be able to participate in team meetings or socialize with other teammates, and will have to travel separately. 

“They are going to be wearing masks, they’re going to have to social distance, they’ll have daily testing,” Zimmer told reporters. “They won’t be able to go home for bye week, they’ll have to come back here and test every day. When we go on the road, they won’t be able to go out to dinner with anybody. They’ll have to travel on buses differently and travel on planes differently, so a lot of the meetings will be virtual like this [media session] is here.”

Zimmer noted that his players had a meeting with the league’s chief medical officer centered around vaccinations. 

The updated protocol comes as league stars have expressed their uncertainty about getting vaccinated, including Buffalo’s Josh Allen, Carolina’s Sam Darnold and Washington’s Montez Sweat.

Last week, Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera brought in a vaccine scientist to speak to his players on facts and questions concerning the COVID-19 vaccine.