The Lead
A day after sharing that he had tested positive for COVID-19, Von Miller joined Sheinelle Jones on the third hour of NBC’s TODAY show to discuss his diagnosis.
It started with a cough, he said.
Miller, who regularly manages his asthma with a nebulizer before football games and practices, tried to use it to alleviate his symptoms, but it had no effect. After consulting with his assistant, she urged him to get a test for the novel coronavirus.
Two days later, his doctor called him with the results.
"I was shocked," Miller said. "We've been taking this serious since Day 1. I started in San Francisco, training where I normally train, and San Francisco was one of the first cities that had a stay-at-home order. Right when San Francisco had the stay-at-home order, we [made] the decision to come back to Denver. I've been in Denver for about four weeks now, and within that four weeks, I've probably left the house four times. With all of those, I never got out of the car. It's just to drive and pick up food and come home. So I've really just been taking it serious, staying at home."
Miller sounded unsure of how he might have gotten the disease, but he did say that a handful of people had been in his house recently — workers like plumbers or housekeepers — "but it was really nothing crazy. But I coughed and here we are today."
Thankfully, it appears Miller has only had mild symptoms from the disease and is now recovering at home.
"I'm feeling better," he said. "It all started with just a simple cough, and then it got worse."
Miller, the first member of the Broncos organization to contract the disease, chose to share his diagnosis to emphasize that the coronavirus can affect anyone, as the team noted in a statement.
So when asked about his thoughts on how the NFL might begin their season this fall depending on the circumstances, Miller had just one stipulation.
"Whatever's safe," Miller said. "That will always be my first precaution: to do whatever is safe. Whatever we have to do to get things back to normal, that's what we should do. We shouldn't move too fast, just do whatever's safe."
Below the Fold
Amid the cancellations of Pro Days and other workouts because of the COVID-19 pandemic, prospects from historically black colleges and universities could see a more difficult path to the NFL than in normal years. Steve Wyche of NFL.com detailed the exact difficulties that range from the cancellation of the first NFL-sponsored HBCU combine to the indefinite postponement of in-person offseason workout programs, which have typically provided the tryouts necessary for players from small schools.
Drew Lock and Melvin Gordon are taking the field together earlier than expected. Well, the digital field. The two are joining the likes of AFC West rival Travis Kelce and rapper/entrepreneur Snoop Dogg in ESPN’s Madden NFL 20 Celebrity Tournament. The bracket will be unveiled Saturday at 10 a.m. MT on ESPN2, and games will be broadcast daily at 10 a.m. on ESPN's digital and social platforms beginning on Monday before the championship on April 26 at 10 a.m. on ESPN2. The winner will receive a $25,000 donation to Feeding America in their name.
The Athletic’s Nick Jhabvala spoke with four former Broncos — wide receiver Brandon Stokley, defensive back Nick Ferguson and offensive linemen Tyler Polumbus and Ryan Harris — to hear their thoughts on the upcoming draft's top players and whom the Broncos might pick. They generally agreed that it would likely be a receiver, but they all picked different options for the Broncos.
