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Browns' JC Tretter Says NFL Wanted to Cancel 3 Week 15 Games Before NFLPA Vote
December 22, 2021
If the NFL had its way, the three Week 15 games impacted by COVID-19 wouldn't have been played.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Cleveland Browns center JC Tretter said the NFLPA executive committee voted to have the games rescheduled after the NFL wanted to cancel them:
Mary Kay Cabot @MaryKayCabot<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Browns?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Browns</a> JC Tretter said the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NFL</a> wanted to cancel the 3 games last week because of the COVID-19 outbreaks, and the NFLPA voted to reschedule them <a href="https://t.co/uMCp8ldVwU">pic.twitter.com/uMCp8ldVwU</a>
The NFL announced Friday that three games—Las Vegas Raiders vs. Browns, Washington Football Team vs. Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Rams—had been rescheduled.
The Browns, Rams and Football Team each had several players and coaches added to the NFL's reserve/COVID-19 list over the course of last week.
Several players for the Raiders, Football Team and Seahawks expressed their unhappiness that the games were rescheduled.
Raiders cornerback Casey Hayward even suggested Tretter, who is president of the NFL Players Association, used his influence to get the games moved:
Before the regular season began, the NFL told teams in a memo that games wouldn't be postponed or rescheduled because of COVID-19 absences involving unvaccinated players.
Rams head coach Sean McVay said all of the players on his team who were put on the reserve/COVID-19 list have been vaccinated.
On Monday, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero noted 213 players have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of last week, with "roughly" two-thirds of that group being asymptomatic.
There has been no indication at this point that any games scheduled for Week 16 are at risk of being rescheduled.