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Lindsey ThiryESPN
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead has tested positive for COVID-19, is isolating in his garage and says that’s where he will conduct the NFL draft instead of at the Rams’ Malibu mansion draft headquarters.
“Can’t make that up, right?” Snead asked, rhetorically, after the conclusion of the first round on Thursday. “You test positive on the first day of the draft, I mean not like two days before, the first day.”
The Rams did not make a first-round pick Thursday night after trading the selection to the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019 to acquire All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey. They are scheduled to make their first pick in the second round, No. 57 overall, on Friday.
Snead and coach Sean McVay both were exposed early in the week to a Rams staff member who was positive for COVID-19.
McVay has continued to test negative since the exposure, a Rams official said.
When addressing the close-contact trace during a virtual pre-draft news conference on Tuesday, McVay said he would return to the draft headquarters Friday if he continued to test negative. However, McVay could decide to conduct the draft from home, too.
Snead said he started to experience mild symptoms Wednesday evening and therefore anticipated that he would receive a positive COVID-19 test result the morning of the draft.
“Last night, some of the aches, I was like, ‘OK, this is real,'” Snead said. “But the good thing is, nothing major, yet, so we’ll cross our fingers there.”
Snead said that he has received one of two coronavirus vaccination doses.
Despite not owning a first-round pick, the Rams made a splash going into the 2021 draft by renting a Malibu mansion that they converted into their team draft headquarters. Offices were made for Snead and McVay that looked out to expansive ocean views and an infinity pool.
The Rams are expected to make three selections Friday, including a second-round pick and two third-round picks.