Graney: Not fair to Raiders, but delay right call

This was NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell from the owners’ meetings on Wednesday when asked if he thought the Raiders-Browns game could be postponed due to an outbreak of COVID-19 cases in Cleveland:

“There has not been any discussion about that. We feel confident that with continuing changes and adaptations through our protocols that we can (play).”

He’s not so confident any more. Like, not at all.

The game was indeed moved off its scheduled Saturday time slot to Monday afternoon. At last count, and these things change by the millisecond, the Browns had 24 players who either tested positive or were placed on the team’s COVID-19 reserve list. Twelve are starters.

The Raiders responded as you might expect, publicly upset with the decision. Players took to Twitter to voice their displeasure, suggesting that had it been any team other than Las Vegas, things would have kicked off Saturday or Cleveland would have been forced to forfeit.

One stated policy is that any forfeit would be a result of an outbreak by unvaccinated players. Every player and staff member involved with the Browns’ situation is reportedly vaccinated. So there’s that.

“I pay my player dues just to get lied to and the rules bent!” Raiders linebacker K.J. Wright tweeted at the league and the players’ union. “If it was the other way around, I swear we would be playing (Saturday).”

Bigger than Raiders

Truth is, this is a far bigger issue than one team. Much bigger than just the Raiders.

It’s true that they had their own (serious) COVID troubles last season and didn’t have any games postponed. They were also prepared to meet Cleveland on Saturday, no matter which names lined up opposite them. The Raiders did their part. They are 100 percent vaccinated.

Of course moving the game and putting them on a short week to prepare for Denver is a competitive disadvantage and not of their doing. Of course this isn’t totally fair.

I get the anger from their side. The organization and its fan base have long contended that the NFL isn’t a friend of the franchise when either dispensing punishment or siding with the team in times of controversy.

Show me a game in which a critical call goes against the Raiders — or maybe just a first-quarter false start penalty — and I will show you a silver and black outrage to the highest decibel. Such is the lens from which they angrily peer.

It’s also not false to suggest the Raiders over time have been on the short end of many issues with the NFL. They have.

But there is another side this time. First, it’s not the only game being moved. Matchups between the Rams and Seahawks and Washington against Philadelphia have been shifted from Sunday to Tuesday due to COVID issues.

Health and safety

Think about it: Health and safety can’t just be some catchphrase when it only fits your narrative. More than 100 players across the league have tested positive in the past three days. Most are fully vaccinated.

The omicron variant is playing havoc with much of the globe, and the league has already seen several isolated cases of it within teams. It’s undoubtedly the reason for such a climb in cases.

Fact: This is an ever-changing landscape in which the NFL is not unlike most others — trying to keep up. It might have strengthened league-wide protocols this week, but nothing at this point offers a full-proof method against testing positive.

It’s a whole new world of the unknown. If that means rules being bent for — yes, health and safety — so be it.

“We can’t apply 2020 solutions to the 2021 problems we’re having,” NFL Chief Medical Officer Allen Sills told reporters at this week’s owners’ meetings. “What testing doesn’t do is prevent transmission, and we’ve known that always. … What we’re trying to do is prevent spread within the facility and keep people from testing positive.”

This thing is still a monster and much bigger than one team feeling it has again been slighted by the NFL.

Sorry. Whether it’s right or wrong to postpone, it’s far bigger than just the Raiders.

Ed Graney is a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing and can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter.