Chicago Bears: Matt Nagy tests positive for COVID-19, what’s his status?

Heading into Week 7, the Chicago Bears experienced a mini COVID-19 outbreak that appears to not have been resolved by quarantining a select few. The team just took a beating by the Tampa Bay Buccanneers and now this morning, Matt Nagy has tested positive for COVID-19. Every Monday, the players and staff are to take a test per NFL protocols. Matt Nagy said he does not have any symptoms, but due to the positive test, he had to leave Halas Hall. Matt Nagy did his Monday press conference virtually from his car.

In his place, Chris Tabor will handle all of Matt Nagy’s meetings. This allows Sean Desai and Bill Lazor to remain focused on their normal tasks at hand. The question will be, when will Matt Nagy be allowed back at Halas Hall? Will he be able to coach the game on Sunday versus the San Francisco 49ers? Well, let’s take a look at what the NFL protocols say.

How soon will Matt Nagy be back at Halas Hall with the Chicago Bears?

As already mentioned, if any player or Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3 individual who is “fully vaccinated” and either reports and or exhibits symptoms of COVID-19 or has a confirmed temperature reading at or above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit may not enter the Club facility. In this case, Matt Nagy would be considered a Tier 1 individual. Matt Nagy then had to immediately self-isolate by being placed in a mask and immediately isolate in a separate room with a door closed until feasibly able to leave.

Clearly, since Matt Nagy was able to do his press conference virtually from his car, he was able to leave either right away or within a reasonable amount of time. Now, Matt Nagy will need to provide daily symptom and temperature checks to the Chicago Bears Head Athletic Trainer.

As far as next steps for Matt Nagy, according to the NFL protocols, because he is fully vaccinated, Nagy will need to have a BRL PCR test and a Mesa Test administered immediately. He will then be tested daily. If he remains asymptomatic, and he receives two consecutive negative BRL PCR tests taken at least 24 hours apart, plus a negative Mesa Test prior to entry into Halas Hall, then he will be able to return. What does this mean?

Well, it means that since Matt Nagy tested positive today, then he should have received two additional tests (BRL PCR and a Mesa Test) today also. That means the soonest he could return would be Wednesday. However, it will be dependent on test results obviously. If he is unable to provide consecutive negative tests, then there’s a possibility he is not able to coach at Soldier Field on Sunday. Honestly, I doubt that happens, but it’s still possible. Expect him to coach virtually at Halas Hall this week as he did during training camp.

Now, the big question will be, who would take over the head coaching responsibilities should Matt Nagy not be cleared prior to Sunday? I cannot imagine it would remain Chris Tabor, but maybe I’m wrong. Now, the bigger question is how many close contact cases will pop up as clearly plenty of players and other coaches have been in direct contact with Matt Nagy recently.

The team already lost Damien Williams (who returned Sunday), Robert Quinn, Elijah Wilkinson, Jimmy Graham and Caleb Johnson due to COVID-19 protocols. Clearly, the Bears are dealing with a mini outbreak. Who is going to be next to miss time? This is not good for a team that has a fan base calling for the head coach’s firing on a daily basis and desperately needs to find a way to beat the San Francisco 49ers this week.