Bills GM Brandon Beane would cut unvaccinated player to loosen restrictions

Shortly after reports emerged that the NFL and NFL Players Association could follow in the footsteps of MLB and relax COVID-19 health and safety protocols for vaccinated personnel and teams that hit a certain percentage of vaccinated Tier 1 employees, the Buffalo Bills and NHL's Buffalo Sabres announced their intentions to require that fans be vaccinated against the coronavirus to attend games during the second half of 2021. 

Per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk, Bills general manager Brandon Beane appeared on Buffalo radio station WGR on Wednesday and said he'd like to avoid potential "headaches" and inconveniences that would come with having unvaccinated individuals among Tier 1 personnel. Host Steve Tasker then asked if Beane would consider cutting an unvaccinated player if doing so would possibly allow the group, as a whole, to work and live under loosened guidelines. 

"Yeah, I would, because it’d be an advantage," Beane answered. "These meetings were not as productive as before because you guys saw in the field house, we had three and four meetings going on. And sometimes you’re talking over each other, but it was the only way to pull it off and be socially distanced. It would be an advantage to cut a player and fall under that umbrella." 

This is all hypothetical, of course, as the NFL isn't mandating players be vaccinated to participate in any club-related activities, preseason games or regular-season contests. Additionally, the NFLPA would likely begin asking serious questions if unvaccinated players around the league found themselves losing jobs between early May and August. 

However, one has to assume other GMs, executives and head coaches share a similar opinion coming off the NFL Draft that featured vaccinated individuals working and speaking together in the same rooms for several consecutive days.