Vikings Potentially a ‘Dark Horse Threat’ in…

But the NFL announced Thursday that those rules have been altered going forward to potentially help vaccinated players who are asymptomatic return to the field quicker.

Dan Graziano of ESPN explained the changes in a recent article:

In creating the new return-to-play protocols, the NFL and NFLPA focused on a new metric that measures the viral load of a player, known as the “cycle threshold” (CT). In essence, the CT value can measure whether a player is still contagious, even if in some cases he would still test positive on a traditional test.

That testing can begin as soon as one day after the initial positive and could significantly shorten the amount of time a vaccinated player spends away from the team facility.

There are now three ways for a vaccinated player to return under the new protocols:

— Two PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests that are either negative or produce a CT value of 35 or greater.

— One PCR test that is either negative or produces a CT value of 35 or greater, and a negative Mesa test result taken with 24 hours of the PCR test. (Mesa tests usually return results in less than an hour.)

— Two negative Mesa tests.

Unvaccinated players are still subject to the same rules as before.

The league also announced that all 32 NFL teams will be placed in intensive COVID-19 protocols until the conclusion of Week 15. The Vikings were in these protocols earlier this week.

This means the reimposition of mandatory mask wearing in team facilities, social distancing, grab-and-go meal service in team cafeterias, all-virtual meetings, limits on the number of people allowed in weight rooms and restrictions on activities outside the facility.

Graziano’s full breakdown of the league’s announced changes can be found here.