Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians likely wasn’t a Boy Scout growing up, as he was too busy drinking paint, but he is planning to follow the group’s motto during the upcoming NFL season: Be Prepared.
Speaking with Chris Long on the former NFL defensive end’s Green Light podcast, Arians was asked what sort of contingency plans he will have in place due to COVID-19.
Arians, 67, told Long he is toying with the idea of keeping a third quarterback away from starter Tom Brady and his backup in order to protect against the possibility of all three of his QBs contracting the coronavirus at the same time.
Coach @BruceArians thinking ahead in what could be a unique fall. Link in pinned tweet for the entire pod. pic.twitter.com/tJZSGs3JR2
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) June 10, 2020
“From what I’m understanding is if you test positive, you get quarantined for two weeks. Now, if you have no symptoms, I don’t know what that means. Is it a false one?” Arians said. “There’s so much to learn and still explore with this thing, but I’ve thought about keeping the third quarterback on the roster out of the room. We have two guys that have been in our system, really sharp. So, I might have to quarantine a quarterback just in case of a quarantine.”
The two guys Arians is referring to are Ryan Griffin and Blaine Gabbert, one of whom will presumably be Brady’s direct backup once the season begins. It sounds like the other, by the veteran coach’s rationale, will be spending a lot of time social distancing once the season begins.
The Bucs open their season on the road against the New Orleans Saints on September 13.
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