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COVID-19 News & Rumors

Stephon Gilmore Returns To Practice

October 15th, 2020 at 5:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Patriots are set to have both Cam Newton and their top defender back Sunday when they host the Broncos. Stephon Gilmore was back at Pats practice Thursday, having returned from his stay on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list.

Newton and Gilmore each tested positive for the coronavirus, and these results led to the NFL postponing Week 5’s Denver-New England game to Week 6. Gilmore learned he tested positive Oct. 7. Two more Patriot players tested positive following the stars’ results. But both standouts are on track to return. In Gilmore’s case, he will be eligible to come back after not missing a game. Newton, who also returned to practice Thursday, missed the Pats’ Week 4 contest in Kansas City.

Gilmore helped the shorthanded Patriots stay close to the Chiefs for a while in their Week 4 loss. Last season, the former first-round pick intercepted six passes and became the first cornerback to win the defensive player of the year award in 10 years. The 30-year-old defender remains the anchor of New England’s top-flight secondary and received a pay bump earlier this year.

The Pats did not practice Wednesday but returned to their facility Thursday. After their game against the Broncos was rescheduled three times, it is currently slated to start at noon CT Sunday.

Titans Activate Jeffery Simmons From Reserve/COVID-19 List

October 15th, 2020 at 2:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Titans are steadily seeing key players return to action after the team’s coronavirus outbreak. Top defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons is now back on Tennessee’s active roster after testing positive for COVID-19. This move follows the Titans’ activations of DaQuan Jones, Kristian Fulton and Adam Humphries.

Simmons landed on the Titans’ COVID list Oct. 3 but is now on track to play in Week 6. He will have missed only one game, with the Titans’ scheduled Week 4 contest against the Steelers having been converted to a bye week after the team’s issues with the virus.

Tennessee selected Simmons in the 2019 first round and saw the Mississippi State product bounce back quickly despite tearing his ACL before the ’19 draft. Likely a top-10 pick prior to the injury, Simmons has flashed as an interior defender in his limited time as a pro. In his most recent game, Simmons registered three QB hits and recorded a sack.

However, the Titans will be without one of their backup running backs for at least three weeks. They placed Darrynton Evans on IR to make room for Simmons’ return to the 53-man roster. A hamstring injury will sideline Evans, a rookie third-rounder out of Appalachian State. Drafted after the Titans cut Dion Lewis, Evans has just five carries this season. Jeremy McNichols resides as the only other back on Tennessee’s active roster, making it likely the team will make a move to add another player at this spot by Saturday’s transaction deadline.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/14/20

October 14th, 2020 at 5:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

New England Patriots

  • Signed off Jaguars’ practice squad: DL Carl Davis

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

COVID-19 Latest: Pro Bowl, Week 18, Bubble

October 14th, 2020 at 4:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

For the first time since 1949, the NFL will not feature its signature all-star game. The league announced Wednesday the 2021 Pro Bowl will not take place. Instead, a to-be-determined slate of activities will commence. This will affect certain players’ resumes this season. Players, coaches and fans will still vote on this year’s Pro Bowlers; there just will not be a game and, thus, no brigade of Pro Bowl alternates will be required. This is not exactly a surprising development. The Pro Bowl cancelation comes in a year in which the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the NFL to cancel free agent visits, move the draft to a virtual setting, nix all in-person offseason activities and induce the league to call off its preseason slate.

Here is the latest from the coronavirus front:

  • Despite the NBA earning immense praise for its bubble concept, the NFL remains against moving its playoffs to a bubble. A Tuesday report about the league considering a playoff bubble preceded denials, with NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills coming out against the idea. “We’re proceeding as is,” Sills said, via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). “We don’t feel (a bubble) is the safest course of action for us.” Discussions of a bubble did not advance far this offseason, and the NFL — despite considerable adjustments to its schedule thus far because of COVID-19 positive tests in Tennessee and New England — will continue to try to play out its season as scheduled.
  • The NFL chose to rearrange eight teams’ schedules on Sunday, amid changes that included postponing a second scheduled game — Broncos-Patriots — because of COVID-19. Rumors have emerged about the NFL implementing a Week 18 as a makeup date, and NFL executive VP Troy Vincent said that would be in play. Though, the league’s stance remains to play all 256 regular-season games in the usual 17-week timeframe, Mark Maske of the Washington Post tweets. The Titans returning to action Tuesday prevented a team from having multiple games moved, thus delaying the first true threat to the schedule being completed in 17 weeks. Roger Goodell has stressed flexibility will be needed to complete the league’s 101st season, pointing to the commissioner being open to an in-case-of-emergency Week 18.
  • New coronavirus protocols are on tap ahead of Week 6, and they could lead to more players missing games. All players who qualify as close contacts of someone who tested positive for COVID-19 must be isolated for at least five days, even if they are asymptomatic, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. All “high risk” close contacts of a player who tests positive after Wednesday would then need to miss at least one game. With the NFL opting against a bubble setup, this is another step the league is taking to try and prevent another outbreak.
  • The Panthers entered the NFL’s intensive protocol after Falcons rookie defensive tackle Marlon Davidson‘s positive COVID test, the team announced. The Falcons, obviously, are going through the same protocols. No Panther has tested positive, and Davidson played only 17 snaps in the Week 5 Carolina-Atlanta game. The Vikings managed to avoid a postponement after their Week 3 game against the Titans. As of now, the Panthers do not appear at risk for having their Week 6 game postponed.

Patriots Activate Cam Newton Off Reserve/COVID-19 List

October 14th, 2020 at 3:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

3:49pm: Newton is on track to be back this week. The Patriots activated their QB1 from their reserve/COVID-19 list.

2:59pm: The Patriots seeing their Week 5 game against the Broncos delayed to Week 6 may well allow them to have their starting quarterback on the field. Cam Newton is expected to practice Thursday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

Newton learned Oct. 3 he tested positive for COVID-19, shelving him for Week 4 and delaying that Patriots-Chiefs game a day. The Pats then saw All-Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore and practice squad defensive tackle Bill Murray test positive. Another positive test prompted the NFL to move the Pats’ Week 5 game, which would have featured Jarrett Stidham starting for New England.

The Pats will only have two days of full practices this week; they will not return to work until Thursday. Newton had yet to test negative for two straight days, a requirement to return to practice, as of Sunday morning. The new Patriots quarterback has navigated that part of the protocol and will be back in uniform. Newton was believed to be asymptomatic.

Prior to his coronavirus-induced hiatus, Newton had rewarded the Pats on their offseason move. Despite arriving in late June, Newton helped the Pats to two wins, had completed 68% of his passes and averaged 49.1 rushing yards per game. The Patriots only needing to play one game without Newton would obviously be a boon to their chances at returning to the playoffs, though the former MVP will also need to stay healthy — something he has not done since his 2015 MVP season — to maximize his new team’s chances at securing postseason entry for the 12th straight season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/13/20

October 13th, 2020 at 3:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves. While the Titans are moving some players off their reserve/COVID-19 list, other teams have placed players on their respective coronavirus lists.

Atlanta Falcons

  • Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Marlon Davidson; the rookie defensive lineman tested positive for the coronavirus, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com tweets.
  • Promoted: CB Tyler Hall

Buffalo Bills

  • Promoted: CB Dane Jackson, LB Andre Smith

Dallas Cowboys

  • Signed off Browns’ practice squad: QB Garrett Gilbert 

Green Bay Packers

  • Placed on IR: TE Josiah Deguara, C Jake Hanson

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: FB Anthony Sherman; the 10th-year veteran did not test positive for the coronavirus, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter).

Los Angeles Rams

  • Promoted: S JuJu Hughes
  • Placed on IR: S Jordan Fuller

Minnesota Vikings

  • Waived: Hercules Mata’afa

New York Jets

  • Promoted: CB Lamar Jackson

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Waived: DB Grayland Arnold, DE Casey Toohill

San Francisco 49ers

  • Claimed off waivers from Buccaneers: CB Parnell Motley

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Promoted: CB Ross Cockrell, LB Chapelle Russell

Tennessee Titans

  • Activated off reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Kamalei Correa, CB Kristian Fulton
  • Promoted: LB Darren Bates, WR Cody Hollister, CB Kareem Orr, OL David Quessenberry

NFL Considering Postseason Bubble

October 13th, 2020 at 1:51pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

As we’ve seen through the first handful of weeks of the 2020 season, handling COVID-19 outbreaks can be a logistical nightmare. Just this past week, one team forced the NFL to radically change up their schedule, switching up games and bye weeks for a handful of franchises.

The league obviously hopes to avoid that kind of chaos later in the season when it’s less easy to change things on the fly, and it appears they could look to the NBA for inspiration. The NFL is considering a playoff bubble, where playoff games would be played at predetermined neutral sites, sources told Lindsay Jones and Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic.

Los Angeles and Dallas are apparently two potential destinations, the sources indicated. One scenario apparently on the table is playing wild card games like normal, then moving into the bubble for the divisional and conference championship rounds, then moving on to Tampa Bay to play the Super Bowl as planned.

Don’t expect them to go full-blown bubble, as the sources said that the league isn’t giving any consideration to altering course and moving into an in-season bubble with all 32 teams. It’s an interesting proposition, and one that would make a lot of sense. If something like the Titans’ situation happened in the playoffs, with dozens of COVID-19 cases, it’s hard to imagine a sensible way to work around it.

Jones and Kaplan also make it seem like a Week 18 is inevitable at this point, with some games being pushed into early January. Once teams have already had their bye weeks it will be nearly impossible to move things around like they did this past week, and one source said it’s a matter of when, not if, there becomes a Week 18. Another source said they’ll likely only play Week 18 games that have playoff implications, so some teams could wind up playing only 15 regular season games.

No New COVID-19 Positives For Titans

October 13th, 2020 at 9:52am CST by Zachary Links

Tonight’s Titans-Bills game will go on as (re-)scheduled. Monday’s round of COVID-19 testing yielded no new positives, clearing the way for their Tuesday Night Football matchup. Ditto for the Chiefs and Patriots (Twitter links via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero).

Over the weekend, one Titans staffer tested positive for the coronavirus, though that person had not been at the team facility for roughly two weeks. Since the staffer has not been in contact with other players, coaches, or executives, the Titans still had the green light to play, pending Monday’s test results. The Titans also got some more good news on Tuesday morning – wide receiver A.J. Brown is good to go after healing up from his bone bruise, per Paul Kuharsky (on Twitter).

The Patriots were asked to nix in-person activities after their flare-up, but they should be able to get back to the practice field on Wednesday. There’s no official word yet, but there’s hope that the Patriots will be able to face the Broncos on Sunday. The two teams were originally scheduled to play last Sunday, then slated for Monday night, before being bumped to Week 6.

Titans On Track To Play Bills

October 12th, 2020 at 8:44am CST by Zachary Links

The Titans had no new positives from Sunday’s round of COVID-19 testing, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). With that, they’re on track to play the Bills on Tuesday night.

Over the weekend, one Titans staffer tested positive for the coronavirus, though that person has not been at the team facility for roughly two weeks. The league believes that the staffer has not been in contact with other players, coaches, or executives, which means that Titans currently have the green light to play. If the team gets more positive test results tomorrow morning, that could change.

The Titans returned to their facilities on Saturday after two consecutive days of negative tests — then, the aforementioned personnel positive put things on hold. The Patriots are in a similar spot, and the ripple effect has created a scheduling quagmire across the league. If the Titans are able to play on Tuesday, the Broncos and Patriots will indeed play each other next Sunday. The Broncos and Chargers will then play each other in Week 8, which was supposed to be when Denver had its bye, and the Dolphins will now play the Broncos in Week 11. However, the Jaguars have now been impacted by this mess, as they were supposed to play the Broncos in Week 8. So, no matter what happens in Nashville, there is still more work to be done.

Patriots, Titans Close Facilities Again; Pats-Broncos Rescheduled

October 11th, 2020 at 12:17pm CST by Rory Parks

12:17pm: We have an update on Cam Newton to pass along. According to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports, Newton has yet to return the two consecutive negative tests required to return to action (video link). But now that the Pats’ game against the Broncos has been pushed to next week, he will have more time to get right.

10:37am: Assuming the Titans are able to play on Tuesday, the Broncos and Patriots will indeed play each other next Sunday, as Schefter tweets. The Broncos and Chargers will then play each other in Week 8, which was supposed to be when Denver had its bye, and the Dolphins will now play the Broncos in Week 11. However, the Jaguars have now been impacted by this mess, as they were supposed to play the Broncos in Week 8. So there is still more rearranging to be done.

08:35am: The Patriots had one new positive COVID-19 test this morning, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). It was a player who tested positive, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says that player was starting DT Byron Cowart. The team’s facility has been shut down again, more testing is being done, and Cowart will be placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list today.

Meanwhile, the Titans released a statement indicating that a coach tested positive. Their facility has been shut down as well, but as Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reports, that coach hasn’t been in the building for nearly two weeks (video link). As such, his positive test might be unrelated to the outbreak that has plagued the team, and contact tracing is being done as we speak.

New England and Tennessee just returned to their facilities yesterday after two consecutive days of negative tests. The Pats’ game against the Broncos this week had been pushed to Monday, and the Titans’ contest against the Bills was rescheduled for Tuesday, but now the Broncos-Patriots matchup has been moved to next Sunday (Twitter link via Schefter). New England and Denver will have their byes this week, and the league will need to reschedule the Broncos-Dolphins game that was originally slated for next week.

We heard several days ago that new positive tests were expected on the Patriots and Titans given the results of contact tracing on both clubs. The league was clear that additional positives would not necessarily mean the cancellation of games, and initial reports this morning indicated that the NFL still planned to move forward with Broncos-Pats tomorrow (Twitter link via Schefter).

However, a decision needed to be made quickly given that the Broncos were scheduled to make a cross-country flight to Foxborough today. Plus, Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston says the Pats were not going to let the league compel them to play, and that if players and coaches are uncomfortable, they will not play (Twitter link).

Given the on-going contact tracing taking place within the Tennessee organization, there is not yet an official word from the league as to the Titans-Bills game. Since the Titans have already lost their bye week, the NFL will presumably want to move forward with that contest. Even if that happens, though, it seems that a Week 18 for rescheduled games around the league is becoming more and more realistic.

As always, we will keep you updated as soon as we have more to pass along.

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