Michael Irvin Upset Cowboys Missed Vaccine Threshold: ‘You’re Not Thinking Right’

Dan Steinberg/AP Images for NFL

The Dallas Cowboys are not among the teams that have reached the 85 percent vaccine threshold prior to training camps, and Hall of Famer Michael Irvin is disappointed with the players.

“It should upset them. Dude, you’re not thinking right,” Irvin said at Merging Vets and Players, per Todd Archer of ESPN. “You’re not thinking right. Whatever you got, I don’t give a damn. … Nothing else can be more important. You’re not going to get this [winning a Super Bowl] easily. Nothing else could be more important.”

The NFL has more relaxed protocols for players vaccinated against COVID-19. Unvaccinated players must be tested every day for the coronavirus and will have more restrictions at team facilities. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, 13 teams have at least 85 percent of their players vaccinated.

Irvin, who won three Super Bowls during his 12 seasons in Dallas, believes any team that doesn’t get vaccinated will be at a disadvantage.

“If you’re not one of them teams [at the threshold], are you really thinking about winning a championship? You see what I’m saying,” he said. “OK, so now if you’re not getting vaccinated and you got all these other teams that are getting vaccinated…”

Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press reported Friday that roughly 73 percent of NFL players have been vaccinated, but the Washington Football Team and Indianapolis Colts have less than a 50 percent vaccination rate.

Though the Cowboys aren’t at the bottom of the list, they will face significant restrictions heading into training camp that could hurt their preparations for the regular season. Unvaccinated players will also need to self-quarantine after being exposed to the virus, meaning they could miss more playing time.

According to the CDC (via Rich Mendez of CNBC), “More than 97 percent of Americans who are entering hospitals with symptomatic COVID infections are unvaccinated.”

“The right person misses two weeks, that’s it. Your ass is out,” Irving said.

Dallas finished with a 6-10 record in 2020, but quarterback Dak Prescott should be back to full strength after missing most of last year with an ankle injury.

The two-time Pro Bowler was on pace to break the single-season passing yardage record before getting injured in Week 5, and he’ll have a lot of weapons around him in 2021, including Ezekiel Elliott, Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup.

Read More