How Seahawks’ Gerald Everett could play at 49ers days after testing positive for COVID-19
There’s a chance Gerald Everett will play for the Seahawks days after testing positive for COVID-19.
But a lot will have to go his and his team’s way this weekend.
The starting tight end and first Seahawk with a confirmed positive case of the coronavirus in the two seasons of the pandemic feels great, with no symptoms of the coronavirus since his positive tests Wednesday. That’s according to his quarterback Russell Wilson Thursday and coach Pete Carroll Friday.
“He’s fine. He doesn’t feel bad, doesn’t feel sick or anything,” Carroll said. “Asymptomatic at this point.”
To play, Everett will need two negative COVID-19 test results 24 hours apart. That’s per the NFL COVID-19 protocols for vaccinated players. Carroll said Everett is vaccinated; the Seahawks have only two unvaccinated guys among the 53 players on the active roster and 16 more on their practice squad.
As of Friday afternoon, Everett had yet to have his first negative test.
It’s possible for Everett to test negative Saturday morning and again Sunday morning in time for him to play in the 1:05 p.m. Sunday in Santa Clara, California, a roughly two-hour flight from Seattle. It’s the shortest road trip the far-flung Seahawks make in the NFL.
The Seahawks players, coaches, staff and media get rapid results of their twice-weekly COVID-19 tests usually within 30 minutes.
“As of today, after not testing negative, yes, he can’t (play Sunday),” Carroll said Friday. “Let me hold back on that one: maybe (he can play), if it’s Saturday and Sunday...
“I’m not sure. Let’s check, because you need two back-to-back to get out.”
Everett will not travel with the team to its hotel in San Jose because the Seahawks leave Saturday afternoon, before Everett could possibly have a second negative COVID test in a 24-hour span.
“No,” Carroll said, “he’s going to materialize in the Bay Area if he passes the test.”
The Seahawks were the last NFL team to not have a player with a confirmed case of COVID-19. They were the only team to have every player test negative all last season, daily from July into January. That’s not counting wide receiver John Ursua’s false positive in August 2020.
Carroll, 70, is the league’s oldest coach. He has made COVID testing and vaccinations a huge priority on the Seahawks the last two seasons. He has offered rapid-result COVID-19 testing at the team facility for all relatives, significant others and friends who have visited players. He had vaccinations drives set up at team headquarters for players and their friends and families.
He called Everett’s positive case this week a wake-up call for the Seahawks amid the recent wave of the Delta variant of the virus spreading across the country.
“We did review the efforts, in a sense, because it is a true wake-up call for a team that’s just been skating along here going so well,” Carroll said. “It couldn’t have been more obvious. We talked all about it. Our guys are appreciative of how we’re handling because they realize what would’ve happened if we’d only been testing like the league wanted us to test on Mondays.”
The NFL Players Association last month accepted the league’s proposal to increase COVID-19 testing for fully vaccinated players, but only up to a required once per week. Fully vaccinated players will now be tested at least once every seven days, a change from from once every 14 days from in training camps. Players have been offered the option of testing twice a week, and those with vulnerable cohabitants at home can opt for daily testing, according to the league’s COVID protocols for the 2021 season.
But Carroll has made twice-a-week testing mandatory for the Seahawks. They test every Monday and Wednesday. Everett was negative on Monday, positive on Wednesday.
Had it not been for the team’s second test this midweek, Everett would be practicing with teammates and playing in Sunday’s game asymptomatic, unknowingly infected with COVID-19.
“If you guys want to write about it, it’s a really good reason why we do (test twice per week),” Carroll said. “Look what just happened.
“We’re very fortunate. Everybody’s on it. We’re paying strict attention. The numbers are going down around the country, and that’s a good sign, but we can’t back off in any area.”
Tight end Colby Parkinson is coming off injured reserve from a foot injury and is likely to play Sunday, Carroll said. Will Dissly becomes the primary tight end if Everett can’t play against the 49ers. Tyler Mabry has been a backup at the position.
