Bucs' Bruce Arians Considering Keeping QB Away from Facility Amid Pandemic

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians could keep one of his backup quarterbacks away from the team facilities during training camp in case Tom Brady or another signal-caller has to be quarantined.

Appearing on the Green Light podcast with Chris Long (h/t NFL.com's Kevin Patra), Arians addressed the possibility of losing a quarterback to quarantine if they test positive for COVID-19:

"From what I'm understanding is if you test positive, you get quarantined for two weeks. Now, if you have no symptoms, I don't know what that means⁠—is it a false (positive)? Is it...There is so much to learn and still explore with this thing. But I've thought about keeping the third quarterback on the roster out of the room. We have two guys that have been in our system (Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Griffin), really sharp. So, I might have to quarantine a quarterback just in case of a quarantine."

Given how frequently quarterbacks are around each other⁠—backups are heavily involved in game planning, both to help the starter and in the event they have to enter a game—there's a chance they would both have to be put in isolation at the same time if they test positive for the virus.

Tom Brady is entering his first season with the Bucs after spending the past 20 seasons with the New England Patriots. He will take over as the starter after Jameis Winston primarily led the offense for the previous five years. 

The Buccaneers also re-signed Blaine Gabbert to serve as Brady's backup in 2020. Ryan Griffin will be third on the depth chart after signing a two-year deal in March 2019. 

Griffin and undrafted rookie Reid Sinnett are the only quarterbacks on Tampa Bay's roster without starting experience. Griffin appeared in two games last season, completing two of his four attempts for 18 yards.