NFL doesn't believe teams will cut unvaccinated players despite threat of forfeits

Back in May, NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith and NFL executive vice president and general counsel Jeff Pash offered harsh reactions to Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane previously suggesting he would consider cutting a player not vaccinated against COVID-19. 

That, however, was before a memo went public Thursday that shows the NFL can force teams to forfeit a game if they're unable to play in a scheduled week throughout the upcoming season because of a coronavirus outbreak among unvaccinated personnel. This, naturally, led some to wonder if coaches and general managers will look for specific reasons to part ways with unvaccinated players before training camps end. 

According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, NFL chief football administrative officer Dawn Aponte said Friday teams haven't been incentivized to cut players who won't receive any of the available and safe shots. 

"I don’t see the two tied directly together," Aponte explained. "I think there are protocols put in place for those individuals." The protocols mentioned by Aponte are health and safety guidelines similar to those used last year that unvaccinated personnel must live and work under to participate in the 2021 campaign. 

"Our labor agreement is pretty clear on what grounds you can and can’t release a player for, and there is not a requirement that players be vaccinated," Pash said in May. Some coaches and/or GMs may test that stance this summer.