Latest update on Bills DT Star Lotulelei from Sean McDermott
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott has continued to remain mum on the status of defensive tackle Star Lotulelei.
On Sunday just hours before taking on the New York Jets, the Bills (6-3) placed Lotulelei on the Reserve/ COVID-19 list. All indications have been that Lotulelei has tested positive for the virus.
Ahead of facing the Indianapolis Colts (5-5) in Week 11, McDermott updated the Lotulelei situation, providing little detail.
“Don’t know. He’s still in that COVID process this morning,” McDermott said via video conference when asked for an update on Wednesday. “Seems to be all right, you know. Best I could tell you. I don’t see him, so.”
Because of the nature of COVID-19 rules, McDermott could be using those laws as a way to hide Lotulelei’s status a bit. The situation with the defender could go one of two ways.
Back in August, Lotueleli first went into the COVID designation because he was deemed a “close contact” to a team staff member that had tested positive for the virus. Because of Lotulelei being unvaccinated at the time, he had quarantine for several days.
Since then, there has been no update on Lotulelei’s vaccination status.
If now vaccinated, Lotueleli needs to provide two negative tests for COVID, back-to-back, 24 hours apart. As long as he is also symptom free, he’s good to return to the team.
If unvaccinated, Lotulelei is out for 10 days and that’s it. That means he would not play vs. the Colts. This same situation just unfolded last week for the Green Bay Packers and quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
While in no way a sign of anything, it is worth noting Buffalo did protect two defensive tackles on their practice squad this week ahead of hosting Indy.
Bills Wire will provide updates on Lotulelei’s status as information because available throughout the week.
