NFL doctors have put an end to medical testing and physicals in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic response around the United States. They released the information on Monday night.
Dr. Anthony Casolaro, co-head physician for the #Redskins & President of the NFL Physicians Society, sent a letter to the NFL & NFLPA discontinuing NFL-related physicals until the health crisis has passed. “Medical resources should focus on those who are ill or in need of care.” pic.twitter.com/1IDLzAvj7y
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 24, 2020
“At the time of the most serious pandemic in our lifetime, we believe medical resources should focus on those who are ill or in need of care,” Dr. Anthony Casolaro, President of the NFL‘s Physician Society said in the letter. “We look forward to examining players when it is appropriate to do so.”
With team facilities already closed since early March, some NFL teams were sending players to their own local hospitals to check them out before signing contracts and it’s unclear if this rollback also applies to those type of visits.
This is going to affect players returning from injury the most. They won’t be able to get a clean bill of health before signing or before the 2020 NFL Draft.
The battle against the coronavirus is continuing to wage with rates of confirmed infections, ICU treatments, and deaths rising exponentially. The move seems like a prudent decision by the NFL’s collection of team doctors.
Buffalo’s team medical director is Dr. Leslie Bisson, an orthopedic surgeon and chair of the Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Department at the University at Buffalo. Also on the staff are Dr. Andrew Cappuccino (orthopedist - spine), Dr. Marc Fineberg (orthopedist), and internists Dr. Mark Kim and Dr. Tom White.