BUFFALO, N.Y. — The optimism for the NFL season is as high as it has been in recent memory in Buffalo given the fact that Tom Brady is out of the AFC East, and the Bills are considered favorites to win the division.
Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared on WGRZ last week and said that, due to COVID-19, it's unlikely that fans will be able to attend games.
That optimism was tempered further by what Fauci said in a CNN interview Wednesday night.
"Unless players are essentially in a bubble ... insulated from the community and tested nearly every day ... it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall. If there is a second wave, which is certainly a possibility and would be complicated by the predictable flu season, football may not happen this year," he said.
NFL teams are currently working to meet a myriad of protocols related to COVID-19 in hopes of bringing players back for training camps in late July.
Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh recently called it "humanly impossible" to prepare a team for an NFL season given all the restrictions.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott is more optimistic.
"There are a lot of layers on those protocols. That said, we do have time on our side. Our team here is working long hours to try and make sure that we can meet all those protocols and still function at a high level," McDermott said.
The Bills are tentatively scheduled to report to training camp July 28.
