Raiders fined for breaking NFL’s COVID-19 protocol after win over Saints

The Raiders were the latest culprit in violating the NFL’s COVID-19 protocol

On the same week Raiders head coach Jun Gruden was fined $100,000 for removing his mask on the sidelines on national television, Vegas also received a separate fine for allowing a non-essential person into the locker room after their win. It was the franchise’s first win in Las Vegas.

While the excitement after the victory is understandable, Vegas had some slip-ups that week. Gruden insists that they’ve learned their lesson since, but Raiders players were seen at a gala without masks as recently as this week.

“We’ve done a good job,” Gruden said at the time. “We’ve done an excellent job. Last night, it was addressed with our players. They walked in with their masks on. There was an event. Sometimes you go to a restaurant, you take your mask off. They’re aware of their mistake. But we’ve done an excellent job of using our masks and taking proper care of each other and everybody.”

Gruden’s insistence might fall on deaf ears

Yet, it’s tough to take Gruden’s insistence as truth right now, given the amount of transgressions we’ve seen from Vegas players and coaching staff. In all, they’ve amassed $250,000 in fines so far. Reminder: it’s Week 4.

Derek Carr addressed the gala incident this week to try and calm some of the Raiders pundits.

“We took off our masks so people could see our faces as they announced us,” Carr told reporters. “We’ve addressed it in house. We admit we should have kept our masks on, but at the end of the day, I hope the story is more about what Darren was able to accomplish.”

The eyes of the NFL are squarely on Vegas moving forward, especially with the recent outbreak in Tennessee, and Cam Newton’s positive test. Hopefully, they make the right adjustments moving forward.