Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson is back with his players at training camp on Wednesday, just over a week after testing positive for COVID-19.
Pederson, who reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus on Aug. 2, stayed away from the team in quarantine while he recovered and went through the NFL’s protocols.
Eagles coach Doug Pederson recovers from coronavirus
The Eagles already had reason to celebrate on Wednesday with the NFL allowing all 32 teams to start ramping up activity at practices. The news got even better for Philadelphia’s locker room when Pederson was cleared to return.
The 52-year-old is the second NFL head coach to test positive for COVID-19. New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton contracted the virus this offseason and recovered. On the season premiere of “Hard Knocks,” Los Angeles Chargers coach Anthony Lynn revealed he had the virus this offseason.
Getting Pederson back should provide the Eagles with a nice morale boost and will help make things easier in practice. Of course, the returning of a coach with a 42-28 career record and a Super Bowl ring is nice to have, too.
Will there be an NFL season?
While things aren’t looking promising for college football this fall, the NFL is in a great position to play this year. After months of negotiations and planning with the NFL Players Association, things have come together nicely so far in training camp.
Houston Texans star J.J. Watt, who will play in the NFL’s regular-season opener, is optimistic the 2020 season starts on time. While he was once critical of the league for its lack of health and safety precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic, recent changes have eased some of his concerns.
The NFL created strict social-distancing guidelines this year and has regularly updated its COVID-19 testing protocols. The league plans to go through a stunning number of testing kits at a huge cost for teams, but the NFL’s latest COVID-19 test results are a great sign things are working.
With teams now in the middle of training camp and everything going well, the NFL is very confident it will have a full 2020 season.