NFL does not believe Joe Ellis or John Elway contracted virus at Broncos' training center or stadiumGetty Images
NFL Chief Medical Officer Dr. Allen Sills said that the league "has remained in close communications with the Broncos" following the team's announcement that President & CEO Joe Ellis and President of Football Operations & GM John Elway have tested positive for COVID-19, and "does not see evidence of extensive transmission within the facility," according to Aric DiLalla of DENVERBRONCOS.com. Sills yesterday said, "It's certainly a concerning situation for us, and we've been in extremely detailed and regular contact with the Broncos' organization. They've been incredibly cooperative with us and again share the same exact goal we do, which is getting a handle on any transmission that might be going on." Sills said that as the NFL works with the Broncos, there is "'nothing unique' about how the league will determine any high-risk contacts for Ellis, Elway or any other staff members who may test positive in the future." Sills said the NFL believes "with a reasonably high degree of certainty" that neither Ellis nor Elway contracted the virus at UCHealth Training Center or Empower Field at Mile High (DENVERBRONCOS.com, 11/3). In Denver, Ryan O'Halloran notes the Broncos' "spike in positive tests is aligned with an increase in cases in the Denver metro area." Ellis and Elway "wear contact tracing devices so after their tests came back positive, the Broncos and NFL began examining the data for people who had recently been around Ellis and Elway" (DENVER POST, 11/4).
CRACK IN THE FOUNDATION: In Denver, Sean Keeler writes "things are about to get weird" this month. Over the last nine days, the Broncos "have had to isolate their starting right guard, two assistant coaches, their general manager and their CEO." Keeler: "Major League Baseball survived. Barely." It "managed to save its bacon without bubble life because it could make games up in a hurry, if it absolutely had to." And it "absolutely did." The "only thing the NFL does well in a hurry is count money." Keeler: "Who didn't see this coming, no matter how many playoff teams you add, no matter how times you tweak the protocol on the fly?" If the goal "was to give the Broncos the best chance to see out every fight on the card, they either needed to be bubbled en masse -- or they needed at least one more bye week thrown in the mix" (DENVER POST, 11/4).
