Raiders tricked players into thinking Jon Gruden had coronavirus to send message

The Las Vegas Raiders’ coaching staff had a unique way of sending a message to players about treating the coronavirus seriously.

According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, the Raiders recently held a Zoom meeting that was supposed to be led by coach Jon Gruden. When players logged on, they were instead met by special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, who told the players that Gruden was hospitalized with COVID-19.

Gruden was not sick or hospitalized, but it was an attempt by Raiders coaches to send the message that anyone could contract the virus and thus needed to be very vigilant during training camp and beyond. According to Garafolo, it actually did resonate with players.

One more on the #Raiders from Inside Training Camp on @nflnetwork: Jon Gruden's attempt to "crush" COVID-19 included assistant Rich Bisaccia tricking the players into thinking Gruden had coronavirus. But it wasn't a mean-spirited prank. There was a serious message behind it. pic.twitter.com/I832Zy5g2a

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 5, 2020

This happened even before Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Pederson tested positive for COVID-19, which probably only drove the point home further.