Adam Schefter welcomed fellow ESPN NFL reporter Todd McShay to his podcast this week. McShay discussed his battle against Covid-19, which left him out of commission for ESPN’s coverage of the NFL Draft last month.
“I had a mild case of it. It just lingered because I wasn’t taking care of myself,” McShay said. “I was preparing for the draft — I had a 400-page book that I distribute internally and that we use for the draft weekend. And just the stress of getting ready for the draft, and then knowing potentially that I might miss the draft — my doctors kind of said that it kind of all added up.”
The public didn’t learn of McShay’s health problems until an hour before round 1 began. McShay tweeted that afternoon that he had tested positive for Covid-19 and as a result, he would not be part of the night’s telecast. He also made it clear that his sickness was not life-threatening.
McShay said the exhaustion was the worst part of the disease and compared the way the virus made him feel to his college football days.
“I mean, I was a Massachusetts kid who went down to Virginia to play football, and had two-a-days in August in 100-degree temperatures with 97 percent humidity, and there were days I didn’t think I was going to make it. I’m telling you, this was more exhausting.”
Not only was McShay not on the telecast, he told Schefter that he couldn’t bring himself to even watch any NFL Draft coverage.
“For whatever reason, I couldn’t watch the draft knowing that I wasn’t a part of it, wasn’t on it, and I felt like I was letting everyone down.”
Todd McShay thanked doctors and health care workers. He promised he would be back on the sidelines as soon as the football season kicks off.
