Arians ponders keeping 1 QB away from Bucs at all times during pandemic

As NFL teams and coaching staff begin preparing for a season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, some of them are developing creative contingency plans.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians said he's considering whether to keep one quarterback away from club facilities at all times to ensure his team has at least one healthy signal-caller.

"That's one of the things I've been pondering the last two or three weeks as we set the protocols," Arians told Chris Long on the former defensive end's "Green Light" podcast. "From what I'm understanding is, if you test positive, you get quarantined for two weeks. Now, if you have no symptoms, I don't know what that means. Is it a false (positive)? There is so much to learn and still explore. ...

"But I've thought about keeping the third quarterback on the roster out of the room. We have two guys that have been in our system (Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Griffin), really sharp. So, I might have to quarantine a quarterback just in case of a quarantine."

The Buccaneers made the offseason's biggest splash by signing Tom Brady, but Arians wants to prepare for the unknown. If Brady were to test positive for COVID-19, it's possible that his backups in a confined quarterback room would also need to be quarantined.

The NFL sent teams a memo Monday laying out plans for players' eventual return to club facilities, but the league is still determining an official course of action for those who test positive.

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