The Pittsburgh Steelers remain among the top NFL teams when it comes to vaccination rates, according to a report by Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press.
The Steelers, Carolin Panthers, Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins are the NFL’s most-vaccinated teams and among the seven with at least 85% of the players vaccinated, according to Maaddi.
Four teams — the Arizona Cardinals, Indianapolis Rams, Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Football Team — remain under 50% vaccinated for COVID-19.
Players that are unvaccinated will not be allowed to socialize with other players outside of the team facilities, must wear masks inside facilities and continue to comply with the league’s mandatory testing cadence.
Having more players receive the vaccine could provide a competitive edge for some clubs, as vaccinated players will not have to sit out games when diagnosed as a close contact this season, something Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin highlighted after minicamp in June.
“We are going to look for any advantage compliance might give us,” Tomlin said. “So participation has been awesome from what I understand. We’re doing really, really well relative to the rest of our peers. We just hope to continue to work in that area, and hopefully it’s a winning edge for us as we proceed.”
Simply having a highly vaccinated player group won’t make teams immune to disruption from the ongoing pandemic, however. The New York Yankees, which have had more than 85% of their roster vaccinated since April, had to cancel their game against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night after five players tested positive for the coronavirus.