Jaguars great Boselli spent 5 days in ICU with COVID-19

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Former Jacksonville Jaguars left tackle Tony Boselli - a three-time All-Pro and 2020 Hall of Fame finalist - feared the worst after a battle with COVID-19 put him in intensive care.

The 47-year-old started experiencing symptoms on March 16, just days after playing golf at the Sawgrass Country Club. He developed a fever on March 18, and he was informed he and his wife, Angie, tested positive for COVID-19 on March 20. He was admitted to the ICU unit at the Mayo Clinic on March 25 and released Monday.

"For whatever reason, (COVID-19) buried me," Boselli said to Gene Frenette of the Florida Times-Union, adding that his wife came out relatively unscathed. "She's obviously much tougher than I am. She had 7-10 days where she didn't feel like herself, but her symptoms were mild."

Boselli's experience was much worse. He required two IVs and oxygen to get his breathing back to normal.

"The worst was my second day in ICU when they were upping my oxygen levels. That was probably the lowest, scariest moment," Boselli said. "I had no family around me. I can't remember exactly what the doctor said, something about the machine needing to go to another level for more oxygen if that didn't work. Whatever drugs they were giving me, in combination with the oxygen, it got me to where I needed to be. I never had to find out what that next level was."

Boselli isn't yet back at 100%, but he no longer has a fever and his cough is under control.

"I can still feel my lungs aren't all the way back," he said.

Boselli was the second overall pick in the 1995 draft. He played for the Jaguars until 2001, making five trips to the Pro Bowl along the way.

He was the first player elected to the Jaguars' ring of honor and has been a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the past four years.