Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Vance McDonald first felt ill and missed practice on Friday, but he still joined the team heading to Dallas and even played against the Cowboys on Sunday. A COVID-19 test McDonald took on Sunday eventually came back positive on Monday.
The Steelers are being questioned as to why they didn't immediately isolate McDonald right when he had an illness in the first place. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin insists the team didn't violate any policies by letting McDonald play against the Cowboys:
“You know, those aren’t decisions that are made by us,” Tomlin said, via Chris Adamski of the Tribune-Review. “It’s really cut and dry. It’s all in the procedural policy of COVID established in New York by the NFL. As long as he is negative and not showing signs of COVID, he’s able to travel, and [McDonald] was and we did.”
Four other Steelers players, including quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, were required to isolate due to having close contact with the tight end. Nonetheless, Tomlin isn't second-guessing allowing McDonald to play:
“We don’t overanalyze it that way,” Tomlin said. “We utilize all the mechanisms at our disposal to minimize the potential of interaction. We’re all masked up. We’re all exercising good personal hygiene and social distancing. We’re doing all the things that we are asked. That’s our mindset regarding it.”
The team just came off a tightly contested 24-19 triumph against the Cowboys in which Roethlisberger had 306 passing yards on a 29-of-42 passing clip and three passing touchdowns. McDonald recorded two receiving yards on a lone reception.
Their latest victory preserved the Steelers' unblemished record and stretched their winning streak to eight games, while the Cowboys continued to struggle with a 2-7 tally.
Hopefully, McDonald will be the only positive case and recover before returning to the field in order to avoid another COVID-19 outbreak.
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