NFLPA advises players not to work out together due to coronavirus

How many football players have tested positive for the coronavirus?

There was an expectation that with places reopening, the United States would see an uptick in positive COVID-19 tests this month. However, some southern states have been setting daily records in coronavirus cases for consecutive days, and the sports world is not immune to those positive tests.

With that in mind, the NFL Players Association suggested to all NFL players Saturday not to work out together in an effort to help stop the spread of coronavirus.

Dr. Thom Mayer, who is the medical doctor for the NFLPA, released a statement advising players to avoid each other while getting in shape before training camp.

"Please be advised that it is our consensus medical opinion that in light of the increase in COVID-19 cases in certain states that no players should be engaged in practicing together in private workouts," Mayer said according to ESPN. "Our goal is to have all players and your families as healthy as possible in the coming months."

One of the states hit hardest this week was Florida. The Sunshine State added more than 4,000 new cases of COVID-19 overnight Friday. On Saturday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported at least two of those cases belong to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

At least two Buccaneers’ players now have tested positive for COVID-19, per sources. Earlier this week one Buccaneers’ coach tested positive and two other assistants were quarantined. So add Tampa to the growing list of teams and schools with positive COVID-19 tests.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 20, 2020

Also before the day ended, South Carolina set a new record for COVID-19 cases on Saturday. On Friday night, the Clemson Tigers football team had 23 positive tests according to ESPN.

Breakouts are also happening at LSU and Kansas State. In Baton Rouge, 30 LSU players are in quarantine according to SI's Ross Dellenger, which accounts for about one quarter of the roster. LSU senior associate athletic trainer Shelly Mullenix told SI that the school was not surprised by the rise in positive tests.

"It's a pandemic. We should not be shocked. The story is that it's exactly what we said it would be. We were prepared from the get-go for a lot of virus. The good news is we're seeing subtle virus illness."

Kansas State announced Saturday its voluntary football workouts have been suspended because of 14 positive cases. The Wildcats were five days into their training camp.

Kansas State has announced that all voluntary football workouts have been paused now that 14 of its student-athletes have tested positive for COVID-19. Those workouts began on Monday.

— Kellis Robinett (@KellisRobinett) June 20, 2020

There will undoubtably be a camp of fans that point to minimum illness as a sign that football players are young enough and in such great shape that COVID-19 will not have a major impact on the football season. However, each positive tests raises the likelihood of a coronavirus death coming to college or professional football, and it's hard to imagine that not bringing the sport to a standstill.