Former NFL Lineman Tony Boselli Says Battle With Coronavirus 'Buried Me' After Hospitalization

Tony Boselli is one of the many people who has contracted the coronavirus, and he recently opened up about his battle with the disease. The former NFL offensive lineman, who was recently named a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist, spoke to the Florida Times-Union this week and he said he was hospitalized for five days at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. He also said his wife contracted COVID-19, but she was never hospitalized.

"For whatever reason, [COVID-19] buried me and didn't do much to her," Boselli said. "She's obviously much tougher than I am. She had 7-10 days where she didn't feel like herself, but her symptoms were mild." The former Jacksonville Jaguars star is not fully recovered, but he's doing much better. He said: I can still feel my lungs aren't all the way back. "I have no fever. The cough is under control. I get tired quicker, but I'm starting to answer emails."

The 47-year-old also spoke to the Jaguars about coronavirus, and he advises everyone to take the disease seriously.

"Thankfully I recovered, but there was no guarantee," Boselli said on the team's official website. "You've got to take it seriously, and the main message is: These health care experts and workers that are talking about this? They're not making this up.

"Take it from someone who was in the hospital and had these people working on me: They're risking everything themselves to take of people. It's serious. It's real. We need to do what people are being asked to do."

He continued: "I'm 47 years old, and I was completely healthy. I got this thing and it knocked me on my butt. … I get when people say, 'It's a low percentage if you're healthy and you're young.' That's probably right, but you know what? You don't want to be on the wrong side of that percentage.

"Also, think of other people. There are people who have underlying medical issues like asthma and diabetes and compromised immune systems. We have elderly people, obviously. I can't imagine not being healthy and going through what I just went through."

Boselli was a member of the Jaguars from 1995-2001, spending the 2002 season with the Houston Texans before retiring. In his eight NFL seasons, Boselli was a five-time Pro Bowler, and he was named to the All-Pro First Team three times.