NFL QB Joe Flacco Reveals He’s Unvaccinated: I Like to ‘Talk About this Topic More Than Anybody’

It’s been a while since Joe Flacco made any sort of headline, but on Wednesday he made two. The New York Jets shockingly announced Flacco as their starting quarterback and hours later, the 36-year-old revealed he is unvaccinated.

Flacco arrived to his Wednesday press conference masked up, which promptly led reporters to inquire about his vaccination status. The quarterback proudly stated that he was not vaccinated and has his reasons for the decision.

“I definitely have my reasons,” the former Super Bowl MVP said. “I honestly probably like to talk about this topic more than anybody. It’s one of those things you debate all the time, but I’ve overall felt like it’s more of a distraction than anything. So I feel like to talk about it too much and give you all my beliefs is more of a distraction than anything. I think the most important thing is going to play a football game.”

Flacco added that his vaccination status didn’t have him more tuned into the Aaron Rodgers saga, stating that he still understands there are league protocols to be followed.

Currently, the NFL only requires unvaccinated players to wear masks indoors, while the vaccinated are free to go maskless. But that will change soon. On the same day that Flacco declared he was not vaccinated, the NFL announced plans to enhance protocols around Thanksgiving.

Understanding that all players will be around more people during the holiday, the league plans to require more testing and for everyone to wear masks between Nov. 25 – Dec. 1, regardless of vaccination status.

Watch above via the New York Jets