It's ironic it was tight end Vance McDonald who became the first Steelers player to test positive for COVID-19 during the season.
After all, it was McDonald who was the most outspoken regarding the NFL's decision to postpone the Steelers' Week 4 game against the Titans due to a COVID outbreak with that team and cause the Steelers to move their bye week earlier this season.
Speaking with reporters in the aftermath of that impromptu bye in Week 4, McDonald expressed frustration with how the league handled that situation.
"We had plans. We had dates set. It gets thrown at you," McDonald said of his wife and three children, ages 4, 2 and 1. "Call it a wrench or whatever. At this point, for myself, if you don’t carry that mindset to be fluid, it’s going to sneak up on you. I can’t afford to carry that with me. I spent the weekend being angry. I spent the weekend being angry that I had to drive in from my farm to get tested. It is what it is.
"But at the same time, the NFL is going to reach a time when you don’t have bye weeks to shuffle around any more. And so, to keep an even playing field, it’s going to be interesting to see what management and leadership does to account for all the moving and shifting of teams."
McDonald was especially critical when that the NFL canceled a game by the Patriots after quarterback Cam Newton and cornerback Stephon Gilmore both tested positive.
"Whatever scale we’re going to use for the NFL, how do you establish a level playing field?" McDonald asked. "My mom reached out to me and she said, ‘Oh my gosh, did you see Cam Newton got COVID?’ I’m not making this about Cam Newton, but it was crazy to think there was partiality offered when the starting quarterback of one of those teams got COVID that the game automatically got delayed.
"I thought to myself, partiality aside, if you had somebody of less significant factor in that game get COVID, would the same thing happen? Are we simply trying to prevent an outbreak, because that player that got COVID would probably be dismissed? It’s all about that fair playing field."
McDonald tested positive Sunday after appearing in 24 plays in the Steelers' 24-19 victory over the Cowboys that lifted the team's record to 8-0. He had been sent home on Friday ill, but had continued to test negative and traveled with the team to Dallas.
The Steelers are in the process of contact tracing to see which players who might have been in close proximity to McDonald who might now need to also be placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Any player who goes on that list but continues to test negative could not be cleared to return to the team until Saturday. The Steelers host the Bengals on Sunday.
McDonald won't be available for at least two weeks after being placed on the reserve/COVID list.
He is the first player since the Steelers reported for training camp at the end of July to test positive for the virus. The Steelers had three players arrive at training camp who were placed on the reserve/COVID list, including wide receiver James Washington and cornerback Justin Layne.
But their season has already been greatly affected by it. The game against the Titans was postponed from Week 4 to Week 7. That forced the Steelers to take their bye in Week 4. It also caused their game in Baltimore to be moved from Week 7 to Week 8, which is when the team was originally scheduled to be their bye week.
Then, two weeks ago after playing the Ravens, Baltimore defensive back Marlon Humphrey tested positive in the aftermath of that game, putting the Steelers into the NFL's intensive protocol last week.
They also had a staff member test positive last Saturday.
Now, with McDonald testing positive, they'll continue in the league's intensive protocol, meaning meetings will have to be done virtually and players will be forced to wear masks during practice, among other things.
It just goes to show that there are no rules when it comes to the virus.
"I only think it’s going to get worse," McDonald said. "More stories are going to come out and unfortunately, it’s the negative ones that catch (on). And it’s ‘I get to point the finger at you.’ We just don’t want the finger pointed at us.
"We knew what we were supposed to be doing from Day 0 at training camp. Let’s just do that. Let’s have respect and honor for everyone and just follow the rules. That to me is the only way you’re going to have fair play. As soon as that is compromised, you’re going to have a team that gets the short stick. I feel, in my opinion, we were that team."
