Jaguars' Urban Meyer admits vaccination status was a factor when cuts were made to final roster

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Urban Meyer may once again be in hot water.

The Jacksonville Jaguars first-year head coach admitted that he and general manager Trent Baalke factored in players’ vaccination statuses when they made final cuts to the team’s roster on Tuesday.

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Meyer said that he considered a player’s vaccination status because there were stricter COVID-19 protocols against an unvaccinated player who tested positive for the virus or if they were considered a high-risk close contact.

"Everyone was considered," Meyer said via ESPN. "That was part of the [considerations such as] production, let's start talking about this, and also is he vaccinated or not? Can I say that that was a decision maker? It was certainly in consideration."

Meyer isn’t wrong with his analysis. An unvaccinated player who tests positive or is considered to be a high-risk close contact would miss more time than a player who is vaccinated. Meyer said that he educated players on the vaccine at the beginning of training camp, however, he said that he would allow each player to make their own decision on whether to get it or not.

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The coach said that he used defensive Josh Allen’s COVID situation as an example. On Aug. 23, Allen was put on the reserve-COVID list and he didn’t come off until Tuesday. Allen, whose vaccination status was never revealed, wore masks around the team facility and was extra cautious, but he missed Jacksonville’s final two preseason games.

"Well Josh Allen's never had it [COVID]," Meyer said. "He's not played in two weeks. So he's never had COVID. I don't know if I'm allowed to say that, but he's never had COVID. So that's pretty punitive."