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| - Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive tackle Donovan Smith, set to protect six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady's blind side this season, says an NFL season during a coronavirus pandemic seems too risky. The 27-year-old blocker, a five-year NFL veteran set to become a father in three weeks, posted his COVID-19 concerns Friday on Instagram. "Risking my health as well as my family's health does not seem like a risk worth taking," Smith said. "I can't help but think about how will I be able to go to work and take proper precautions around 80-plus people everyday to then go home to be with my newborn daughter." Florida is among the US hotspots for the deadly virus with more than 240,000 positive tests and more than 4,100 deaths. The key protector for Brady, who left New England after 20 seasons in March to join the Buccaneers, says players should get raises for risking their health and that of their families. "How can a sport that requires physical contact on every snap and transferral of all types of bodily fluid EVERY SINGLE PLAY practice safe social distancing?" Smith wrote. "We can get tested everyday but if it takes 24 hours to get my results, how can I know each day I'm not spreading this virus or contracting it?" The NFL and NFL Players Association continue to discuss health and safety protocols ahead of a planned July 28 start to training camps and a start to the campaign on September 10 with Houston at reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City. "I am not a lab rat or guinea pig to test theories on," Smith said. "I am a man, a son, brother, soon to be father, and I deserve to be safe at work." js/rcw
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