Von Miller is opening up about contracting the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

In an appearance on Today Friday, the Denver Broncos linebacker said via video that his symptoms were mild at first.

“It all started with just a simple cough and it got worse. I also have asthma. My girlfriend, she was telling me that I wasn’t sounding normal and I should try my nebulizer so I did,” Miller, 31, shared. “I had waited another day — the cough still didn’t go away.”

Two days later, he got tested and heard from his doctor that the results were positive.

“I was shocked,” Miller said of the positive test result. “We’ve been taking this serious since day one.”

Miller is only the second confirmed NFL player to contract coronavirus (the Los Angeles Rams’ Brian Allen was the first). Compared to many other major sports, the league has largely been unaffected by shutdowns so far, as football is in the off-season.

When asked about potentially playing to an empty stadium come fall, Miller said he thinks the NFL “should do whatever is safe.”

“That would always be our first precaution, to do whatever is safe,” he said on Today. “Whatever we have to do to get things back to normal, that’s what we should do.”

As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments. To help provide doctors and nurses on the front lines with life-saving medical resources, donate to Direct Relief here.

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