Urban Meyer made some candid remarks about roster cuts this week that led to the NFL Players Association opening an investigation, and the Jacksonville Jaguars have now responded to the controversy.
Meyer told reporters on Tuesday that everything was considered when deciding which players to keep on the 53-man roster. He said that process included “is he vaccinated or not?” and that vaccination status was “certainly in consideration.”
On Wednesday, the Jaguars released a statement that insisted no player was released based on vaccination status alone. However, the team admitted that “availability is one of the many factors taken into account when making roster decisions.” You can read the full statement below:
Statement from the @Jaguars: pic.twitter.com/H69pKT3art
— JaguarsPR (@JaguarsPR) September 1, 2021
You can interpret that any way you want. While it’s likely true that no player was cut strictly due to vaccination status, all teams have to take it into consideration. The NFL has much stricter protocols for unvaccinated players compared to vaccinated players. Unvaccinated players have restrictions related to more frequent testing, mask-wearing, meal-eating, and more.
Does that mean Trevor Lawrence would have been cut if he were not vaccinated? Of course not, but it was reportedly a factor in at least one notable player’s release.
The NFLPA could be angling for a discrimination lawsuit, but they knew the implications the vaccine-related protocols would have when they agreed to them.
