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NFLPA's DeMaurice Smith: Super Bowl 55 Won't Move Under 'Any Scenario'
February 3, 2021
No matter what happens with COVID-19 protocols, Super Bowl 55 will remain on schedule for Sunday.
"I don't see any scenario where we would agree with the league to move the Super Bowl," NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said Wednesday on ESPN's Keyshawn, JWill & Zubin Show (via ESPN.com).
When asked whether things would change if a star player like Patrick Mahomes or Tom Brady tested positive for COVID-19, Smith noted games have moved forward this season even with the Cleveland Browns not having a coach or the Denver Broncos not having a quarterback.
"I think it wouldn't be fair to the rigor and the discipline that we've insisted that players have this year to move the Super Bowl," Smith added. "My hope, and certainly everybody's hope, is that our players will continue to double down, do the great job that they've done all season, and we'll get this fantastic game kicked off on time."
The Kansas City Chiefs are scheduled to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
The Chiefs placed receiver Demarcus Robinson and center Daniel Kilgore on the reserve/COVID-19 list earlier this week, per Adam Schefter of ESPN. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network noted this was as a result of contact tracing and no one on the Chiefs or Buccaneers have tested positive for COVID-19 through two rounds of testing.
The NFL postponed games earlier this season as a result of outbreaks within the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens, but the league will apparently stand firm with the date for the Super Bowl.
