Raiders taking coronavirus vaccine seriously

Vaccine rates among NFL players and coaches have been — and will continue to be — a major topic of conversation.

Guidelines for vaccinated and non-vaccinated players and coaches will be very different this season. For vaccinated players, guidelines will be similar to the pre-coronavirus 2020 season.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported on Wednesday that the Las Vegas Raiders feel good about where they stand in the vaccination scope, with one insider saying they might be “the best in the league.”

New Raiders’ defensive tackle Solomon Thomas offered some insight into how the players on the team are approaching whether or not to get vaccinated and it seems that the betterment of the squad is at the forefront of their thoughts.

“Definitely, it’s something we talk about,” Thomas said Wednesday at the team’s OTA session in quotes distributed by the team. “We have some professionals on the team who are very good about communicating about the vaccine and the science behind it, what’s good, what’s bad. But yeah, as a collective unit we’ve all had to talk about it.

“There’s restrictions if you don’t get the vaccine, there’s less restrictions if you get the vaccine. It’s definitely something you have to talk about and think about. There’s a lot of close contact cases, and we don’t want those. We want everybody to be healthy and safe. We’re just trying to make the right decision as a team and respect everyone’s personal decision. It’s hard, it’s not an easy thing to just be like, ‘Hey, I’m going to get it.’ It’s something you have to put thought in to, research and have some conviction behind.”