New Orleans Saints Have Six Offensive Coaches, One Player Test Positive For COVID

After coming off of a monstrous Week 1 victory, the New Orleans Saints are facing another hurdle with multiple members of the team testing positive for COVID. While only one player has reportedly tested positive so far, approximately half of the offensive coaching staff have received a positive result.

UPDATE: Apparently, Saints wide-receiver Michael Thomas, who was previously on the injured reserve list, is the one team-member that tested positive for COVID per @nick_underhill on Twitter.

See the report with details from @AdamSchefter on Twitter below.

According to Schefter's post, there are eight total COVID cases on the Saints team. Six offensive coaches, one player, and one nutritionist have tested positive.

Including head coach Sean Payton, the Saints have twelve offensive coaches listed on the staff. This means that half of the offensive coaching staff could possibly be out of the action for Sunday's Week 2 matchup against the Carolina Panthers.

Another report from @TomPelissero on Twitter says five of the Saints' assistants that tested positive for COVID are vaccinated.

Vaccination status has massive implications for any member of an NFL organization to get back to the action in a timely manner. The NFL sent out a memo before the start of the season detailing how positive COVID tests among both vaccinated and unvaccinated team members would be handled.

As far as "close contacts" go @ProFootballDoc says on Twitter that the Saints have a 100% vaccination rate amongst players.

With only one player reportedly testing positive thus far, let's hope that there aren't any more positive tests or close contacts that jeopardize any player's eligibility for Sunday's game.

The Saints dominated in their Week 1 victory over the Green Bay Packers, with a final score of 38-3. They travel up to Charlotte to take on the (1-0) Panthers this Sunday in a Week 2 divisional matchup.