Report: Rutgers Football has 28 players and multiple staff members with COVID-19 cases

A few days after the New Jersey Health Commissioner announced that 15 Rutgers football players had tested positive for COVID-19, the outbreak within the program has grown. On Monday night, Keith Sargeant of NJ Advance Media reported that there are now COVID-19 cases among 28 players, as well as with multiple staff members. Although the article is subscriber exclusive, his initial report was picked up by national football writers.

On July 25, The program announced they had stopped workouts and quarantined the entire team due to six players testing positive for COVID-19. A few days later, it was reported that the count had grown to 15 players and the root cause was traced back to an on campus gathering that several team members had attended.

Rutgers is one of six Big Ten programs to halt workouts due to COVID-19 related issues, as Northwestern announced they were doing so as well on Monday. However, the outbreak the Scarlet Knights are experiencing is reportedly the most widespread and comes at a time when the Big Ten is expected to release a fall conference-only schedule this week.

The program will remain in isolation until August 8 based on the 14 day guidelines for quarantine, which is one day after the NCAA allows training camps to open across college football. However, the impact that the COVID-19 outbreak within the program could have on the field for Rutgers this fall seems inconsequential compared with the serious health concerns that are occurring. We will provide updates when they become available.