Los Angeles Rams center Brian Allen has tested positive for coronavirus, the team announced on Wednesday night. Allen tested positive for COVID-19 three weeks ago, and is now the first known NFL player to contract the virus. Jay Glazer of Fox Sports first reported the news, and head coach Sean McVay talked about Allen’s health on FOX Football Now.
“I talked to him yesterday. I’m really glad to hear he’s feeling good, he’s healthy and he’s on the road to recovery,” McVay said to Glazer, per NFL.com. “I think we all understand that the severity of what this has meant for some people, fortunately for Brian, he’s on the road to recovery. I think he did a great job of letting us know right away so we could be timely in our response and making sure that we didn’t expose anybody else to that.”
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Allen revealed to Glazer he started to experience symptoms three weeks ago. He first noticed he was losing his sense of smell, then his sense of taste. He told Glazer: “I couldn’t smell anything: ‘I lost all sense of smell to the point where I had smelling salts here, I cracked them open, put them to my nose and nothing happened. All I could feel was texture in my mouth – literally, it was the only sense I had. Then I got periodic sore throats. I got really fatigued, my throat would start burning, everything felt different than every other flu I’ve had.”
Allen, 24, was drafted by the Rams in the fourth round in 2018. He became the starting center in 2019 after John Sullivan left, but missed the last nine games due to an MCL injury. He played college football at Michigan State where he was a three-time All-Big Ten offensive lineman.
The NFL season isn’t slated to start until September, but the league has already made changes due to the coronavirus pandemic. The NFL Draft, which will begin on Thursday, April 23, will be all virtual, and commissioner Roger Goodell will announce the first-round picks from his home. Currently, all team facilities are closed, and the offseason program will also be done virtually. Along with Allen, New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton tested positive for coronavirus in March, but has also made a full recovery.
