NFL Player Details Scary Fight with Covid: There Were Moments Where I Said ‘I Don’t Know If I’m Going to Make This’

Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Dion Dawkins was removed from the Covid-19 reserve list last week, but a long road remains before he’ll be ready to regain his starting job. Dawkins spoke with reporters Tuesday and shared some of the scary details from his battle with Covid.

“I don’t want to like scare anybody, but there was moments that I was like, I don’t know if I’m gonna make this,” Dawkins said, via video shared by Jon Scott of Spectrum News 1. “I was down bad, I was down bad where I could barely move and I was just hurting.”

“I don’t want to scare anybody, but there were moments where I was like ‘I don’t know if I’m going to make this.'”

Dion Dawkins incredibly open and honest about his battle with COVID, one that had him in the hospital 4 days.

“Life can be over before you know it.”#Bills pic.twitter.com/aXD2UqToFT

— Jon Scott (@JonScottTV) August 17, 2021

The 27-year-old offensive lineman said he did get vaccinated this summer, but he tested positive less than 14 days after his second shot. People are not considered fully vaccinated until after that 14-day interval following their second dose of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Dawkins spent four days in Buffalo General Medical center with symptoms that included shortness of breath, coughing and dehydration. He lost about 15 pounds during the bout.

“I said, ‘Man, how am I a professional athlete and I’m down bad like this?’” Dawkins told reporters. “I said, ‘I can’t imagine people who aren’t healthy and don’t work out and really like don’t do anything.’ I was like, man, just God bless them because I just got off of an offseason where I was grinding every day. And then as soon as I come back, I got hit with it. So it was just like man, like this is crazy but this is a world fight and I just got hit with a bullet.”

“How am I a professional athlete and I’m down bad like this?”

Dion Dawkins couldn’t believe COVID could hit him as hard as it did after he had been training for #BillsCamp all offseason.

“This is a world fight and I just got hit with a bullet.”#Bills pic.twitter.com/IzChYBv9Gy

— Jon Scott (@JonScottTV) August 17, 2021

While Dawkins exemplifies the dangers and severity of Covid-19, his Buffalo Bills teammate Cole Beasley has been one of the leading NFL voices against getting vaccinated.

“That’s my brother, and we’re all here together,” Dawkins said of Beasley. “I don’t think that he’s downplaying it. I just think he’s downplaying the knowledge that was given to him.”

Beasley has reaffirmed his stance against getting vaccinated throughout the NFL offseason with tweets, statements and even rap songs. The wide receiver doesn’t appear to be seeking more information or knowledge on the topic, instead stating, “I’d rather take my chances with Covid,” a virus that sent his teammate to the hospital.