According to reports, Fox play-by-play man Kenny Albert will not be calling Sunday’s Week 1 game between the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears. Instead, Dick Stockton is now scheduled to be the play-by-play man for tomorrow’s game.
Dick Stockton now scheduled to be the play-by-play man for Fox's broadcast of #Bears #Lions from Ford Field tomorrow. Kenny Albert is out because of COVID-19 protocol. He recently traveled back from Canada, where he was calling NHL action.https://t.co/FDE5KMDAVW
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) September 12, 2020
The New York Post is reporting that Albert will not be allowed to call the game because the NFL has a rule that anyone traveling from a foreign country must quarantine for two weeks before being in the stadium.
http://gty.im/1165954212
Kenny Albert will not call Sunday’s Bears-Lions game on Fox because of COVID protocols, even though the broadcaster has been in a safer environment than most play-by-players, The Post has learned.
The NFL has made a rule that anyone coming from a foreign country has to quarantine for two weeks. Albert, 52, for the past month has worked NHL playoff games for NBC in Edmonton.
Canada has a superior COVID record compared to the United States and Albert had been tested multiple times per week there. Still, the NFL is staying with its protocols. It will put Albert’s spot in limbo for next week, as well.
Albert was supposed to debut with Fox rookie analyst Jon Vilma but is now expected to be replaced by 77-year-old Dick Stockton. Stockton will travel to Detroit from his home in Arizona.
All NFL play-by-players and analysts are tested on-site before calling the games.
