Pat McAfee was one failed drug test away from a Super Bowl ring. Or one positive COVID antibody test. It depends on which version of the story you believe.<\/p>\n
The basic facts aren\u2019t in dispute. In December 2020, the Buccaneers put their entire special teams unit on the reserve\/COVID-19 list<\/a> heading into their game against the Falcons. And Bruce Arians<\/a>, who coached McAfee<\/a> when he was the Colts\u2019 offensive coordinator and interim head coach in 2012, reached out to see if his former punter would come out of retirement to handle both kicking and punting duties for one week.<\/p>\n McAfee, who retired after the 2016 season to build his media empire, was interested. The Bucs went on to win the Super Bowl that year, which means McAfee would\u2019ve gotten a ring for kicking in maybe one game, two tops, before Ryan Succop and\/or Bradley Pinion returned.<\/p>\n What stopped it from happening? That\u2019s where the story gets murky.<\/p>\n McAfee\u2019s version, which he told on his show in February 2021<\/a>, pins it on COVID protocols. He said the NFL required players to either test positive for COVID antibodies or complete a 10-day quarantine and get a negative test. McAfee got tested for the antibodies. He didn\u2019t have them. The Bucs needed him immediately for the Falcons game, and there wasn\u2019t time for him to complete the 10-day quarantine. Succop and Pinion cleared protocol before the game anyway, so it became a moot point.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I was worse with the way I handled COVID I would probably have a Super Bowl ring,\u201d McAfee said at the time.<\/p>\n But Arians told a completely different story when he appeared on The Athletic\u2019s series<\/a> about the mental side of sports. Arians said he called McAfee, asking if he could kick, told him he wouldn\u2019t even need to come to Tampa, just start practicing, and they\u2019d fly him in for games if needed. McAfee said yes. Then, Arians asked if he could pass a drug test.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said, \u2018I gotta pass a drug test?\u2019 I said, \u2018Yep.\u2019 \u2018Aw f*ck, I\u2019m out,’\u201d Arians recalled.<\/p>\n @theathletic<\/a> Bruce Arians almost made Pat McAfee a Super Bowl Champion. \ud83c\udfc6 For more behind the scenes confessions check out our full piece with the link in our bio \ud83d\udd17 #nfl<\/a> #sports<\/a> #colts<\/a> #confessions<\/a> #patmcafee<\/a> \u266c original sound \u2013 The Athletic<\/a><\/p>\n So which version is true? It\u2019s probably some combination of both.<\/p>\n It\u2019s entirely plausible that McAfee knew he couldn\u2019t pass an NFL drug test in December 2020, nearly four years after retiring. It\u2019s also plausible that the COVID antibody issue was real and became the easier explanation to tell publicly. The timeline supports both narratives. The Bucs needed help immediately. McAfee didn\u2019t have antibodies, and even if he did, he may not have been able to pass the required drug screening.<\/p>\n Either way, McAfee came closer to playing in another Super Bowl than most people realize.<\/p>\n \t