Cole Beasley will not play in Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots after he tested positive for COVID-19, and it sounds like the Buffalo Bills receiver has been dealing with COVID-related issues all season.
According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, Beasley has been fined in the range of $100,000 this season for various violations of the NFL’s COVID protocols. The first fine was for $14,600 back in August, when Beasley and more than two dozen players were disciplined for not wearing masks and/or their refusal to wear a tracking device. Mortensen says that $14,600 has doubled on multiple occasions for Beasley when he was caught via the NFL’s video monitoring.
Mortensen noted that Beasley will still collect his game check for Week 15, which is more than $250,000. The NFL is expected to explore the possibility of not paying unvaccinated players who land on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Beasley has faced a great deal of criticism for taking an open stance against the COVID-19 vaccine. He issued a statement this week saying he feels well enough to play and calling out the NFL for its hypocrisy in handling COVID cases.
The vast majority of NFL players who have tested positive for COVID have been asymptomatic. That is likely one of the reasons the league recently made a significant change to its testing protocol.
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