NFL makes surprising decision on COVID punishment for Raiders, Saints
By Josh Hill
The NFL has made its decision on whether or not to strip draft picks for COVID-19 violations by the Raiders and Saints.
Remember when the NFL put on an extremely strict face when it came to making sure teams abided by its COVI-19 rules?
We might remember, but the league seems to have suffered a case of appeal-induced amnesia.
As teams prepare for the upcoming NFL Draft, it turns out in-season punishments pertaining to lost draft picks due to COVID violations will not be obstacles.
NFL reverses decision on COVID-19 punishment for Raiders, Saints
While talking a big game during the season about how harshly teams would be punished for repeated violations of the league’s COVID-19 policy, neither the Las Vegas Raiders nor the New Orleans Saints will be stripped of draft picks.
“They are not forfeiting them,” NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk. “Neither team will lose those picks.”
If you’re sitting there trying to remember if you heard the Raiders and Saints had been stripped of draft picks, you’re remembering correctly. During the season, the league announced it would strip the Saints of a seventh-round pick and the Raiders of a sixth-round pick following separate COVID violations.
The Saints were busted after a mask-less locker room celebration and the Raiders were hit after refusing multiple warnings.
As it turns out, the picks will not be stripped. Florio speculates it’s because the two teams won their appeal of the discipline.