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COVID-19 News & Rumors

COVID-19 Notes: Bubble, Tiebreakers, Bengals

October 11th, 2020 at 10:02am CST by Rory Parks

The Titans and Patriots are once again in limbo as a result of a new positive test for a Titans staffer and for Patriots DT Byron Cowart. Meanwhile, the Broncos will have their bye this week since their game against New England has been pushed to next Sunday, but because Denver practiced all this week in preparation for a game, it has effectively lost the benefit of a bye.

As the NFL tries to push through the season, let’s take a look at a few COVID-related items:

  • Luckily, aside from the positive tests mentioned above, there were no other new positives this morning, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter).
  • Nonetheless, pundits around the league seem convinced that the NFL will be forced to insert a Week 18 for rescheduled games. The Broncos–Dolphins contest originally slated for next week will need to be rescheduled since the Broncos will now be taking on the Patriots at that time, so Denver-Miami could be the first game set for a Week 18 matchup.
  • There is also the possibility, of course, that some games will just need to be cancelled. If that happens, the league would need to use winning percentage as a tiebreaker, as Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv reminds us (Twitter link). That’s hardly ideal, but it may be a reality.
  • In the event of a cancelled game, players would lose game checks. Although the union is not yet amenable to a home-market bubble for the remainder of the season, it may change its tune if players starting losing money, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes.
  • During the NFL’s mandatory conference call with players, coaches, and GMs last week, the Bengals reportedly drew the ire of the league, as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes. The call included data that showed which teams were doing the best job in terms of social distancing and contact tracing, and Cincinnati was at the bottom of the heap. Luckily, the Bengals have avoided any major COVID-19 scares thus far.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/10/20

October 10th, 2020 at 4:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here is the latest barrage of Saturday minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears

  • Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: T Badara Traore

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Greg Mabin

Washington Football Team

Titans To Activate T Isaiah Wilson From Reserve/COVID-19 List

October 10th, 2020 at 1:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

While it is not a 100% certainty that Tuesday’s Titans-Bills game will take place, Tennessee’s 2020 first-round pick has a chance to make his season debut.

The Titans are activating Isaiah Wilson from their reserve/COVID-19 list, Mike Vrabel said Saturday. The rookie tackle has been on the COVID list for the past 34 days.

Wilson has not enjoyed a smooth ride since being selected 29th overall. The Titans placed the Georgia offensive lineman on their reserve/COVID list twice, and Wilson was arrested on a DUI charge in September. He also received a trespass citation after attending a Tennessee State party in August — something that fell under this year’s “conduct detrimental” umbrella.

Dennis Kelly has operated as the Titans’ starting right tackle in the team’s first three games, serving as a potential bridge between Jack Conklin and Wilson. A ninth-year veteran, Kelly will likely continue to work as a starter Tuesday — should the game be played. Wilson, however, could see action as he attempts to rebound from a bad offseason.

The Titans’ consecutive days of no positive coronavirus tests allowed them to return to their facility after more than a week, putting their Week 5 home game on track to commence.

Bears PS Player, Chiefs Coach Test Positive For COVID-19

October 10th, 2020 at 11:59am CST by Ben Levine

An unidentified Bears practice squad player has tested positive for COVID-19, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). Fortunately, Chicago does have some time on their side. After beating the Buccaneers on Thursday night, the Bears won’t play again until next Sunday at Carolina. Schefter notes that the team facilities have been closed since Thursday night.

Mark Maske of The Washington Post tweets that while contact tracing is ongoing throughout the Bears organization, there are “no further issues expected at this point in terms of effect on games.”

More notes below:

  • In the same tweet, Schefter adds that a Chiefs strength and conditioning coach has tested positive. Kansas City hosted the Patriots on Monday night, and we later learned that New England cornerback Stephon Gilmore had tested positive for COVID-19. Fortunately, tests for Chiefs players have reportedly come back negative all week.
  • We learned last night that the “presumptive positive” test result for a Jets player was proven to be a false positive. Mike Garafolo of NFL Network tweets that the organization was confident that “protocols have been followed.” Similarly, SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano tweets that the team did another full round of PCR testing among some players and staff “just to be safe.”
  • The Patriots (along with the Titans) returned to their practice facility today, but New England was still without two key players. Neither Cam Newton nor Gilmore were on the practice field this morning, according to Schefter (via Twitter). As Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com detailed this morning, there’s a path to both Newton and Gilmore playing Monday against the Broncos, although it’s unlikely that at least the cornerback misses the contest. Both players are currently sitting on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Jets’ “Presumptive Positive” COVID-19 Comes Back Negative

October 9th, 2020 at 9:20pm CST by Zachary Links

The “presumptive positive” test result for a Jets player has proven to be a false positive, per a club announcement. With that, their upcoming game against the Cardinals is on track to be played as scheduled.

“This evening, we received negative PCR COVID-19 test results for all players, coaches and personnel,” the team said in a statement. “Following a presumptive positive COVID-19 test and out of an abundance of caution to ensure everyone’s health and safety, we sent all players and personnel home this morning. We also initiated all NFL mandated protocols including player isolation, subsequent testing, and contact tracing.

“As we have thus far, we will continue to follow required health and safety protocols in the best interests of our coaches, players, staff and community. We look forward to our game this Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.”

This comes on the heels of some good news for the Patriots and Titans, who received new positives in the last week. The latest round of testing came back negative for both clubs, which means they could resume practice on Saturday if everything remains stable.

Jets Player Has “Presumptive Positive” COVID-19 Test

October 9th, 2020 at 9:03am CST by Rory Parks

Not long after we received some good news on the COVID-19 front with respect to the Patriots and Titans, we learned that there is some cause for concern on the Jets. According to ProFootballTalk, a New York player has a “presumptive positive” test result (Twitter link).

The player with the presumptive positive has been re-tested, and all Jets players and coaches have been sent home out of an abundance of caution. As Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets, the results of the retest are expected back at some point today.

Gang Green is set to play host to the Cardinals this week, and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com points out that Arizona was supposed to make its cross-country flight today (Twitter link). Obviously, those travel plans are in flux at the moment.

We will keep you posted as we learn more. But as NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills has stated, there were always going to be positive tests this year. The key will be avoiding outbreaks like the one that has plagued the Titans.

No New Positive Tests For Titans, Patriots

October 9th, 2020 at 8:44am CST by Rory Parks

Yesterday’s round of COVID-19 testing yielded no new positive results for either the Patriots or Titans, according to multiple sources, including Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). As such, the Broncos-Patriots contest, which has been moved to Monday night, is on track to be played, as is the Bills-Titans matchup, currently scheduled for Tuesday night.

Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reports that contact tracing identified multiple Patriots players as close/high-risk contacts with CB Stephon Gilmore, who tested positive for the coronavirus, and there are multiple Titans players who are close/high-risk contacts with their COVID-infected teammates (Twitter link). That is not at all surprising, of course, but it stands to reason that there may be more positive tests on both clubs in the coming days. That does not mean, however, that their games would necessarily be nixed.

Pelissero goes into more detail on that point in an interview on the NFL Network this morning (video link). He adds that while the Patriots’ and Titans’ facilities remain closed today, both clubs could be back on the practice field tomorrow if all goes well.

As the NFL already postponed Tennessee’s Week 4 game, it obviously does not want to postpone another one and deal with all of the logistical and competitiveness questions that such a decision would create. Presumably, that’s why additional positive tests would not necessarily impact the club’s Tuesday night affair with Buffalo.

There is also good news for the Chiefs in all of this. Although they tangled with Gilmore and the Pats on Monday night, Pelissero says all of KC’s tests have come back negative this week.

NFL To Move Broncos-Patriots Game To Monday

October 8th, 2020 at 10:23pm CST by Sam Robinson

For a second straight week, a Patriots game will be moved from Sunday afternoon. The league has officially announced that their Week 5 game against the Broncos will be moved to Monday at 4pm CT/5pm ET.

Cam Newton learned he tested positive for COVID-19 on the Saturday before Week 4 game against the Chiefs, and Stephon Gilmore — who had dinner with Newton last Friday — tested positive Tuesday. As of Thursday, both players are believed to be asymptomatic. Patriots practice squad defensive tackle Bill Murray has also tested positive for the virus. No positive Patriots tests occurred Thursday.

While the Broncos have been able to practice at their facility this week, the Patriots remain barred from doing so because of their coronavirus issues. The Pats will conduct virtual sessions Friday as well, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. This makes the status of Week 5’s Denver-New England game murky.

The Titans saw a string of players test positive for the virus, over a period of more than a week, and their outbreak has continued through Thursday. The Titans’ issues with the virus could prompt the league to err on the side of caution to help prevent a Patriots spread.

But for now, the Patriots will have a second straight game moved from the late-afternoon Sunday window to Monday night. This game will precede the previously scheduled Monday-night game (Chargers-Saints).

NFL To Shift Bills-Titans Game To Tuesday

October 8th, 2020 at 5:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

Minutes after the Broncos-Patriots game was moved to Monday, news about the Titans’ Week 5 contest emerged. Their home game against the Bills is being moved from Sunday to Tuesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

However, this game taking place is contingent on future Titans coronavirus tests. The game will be played at 6pm CT Tuesday, so long as no more Titans positive tests occur, Schefter adds.

This change also affects the Chiefs. Their Week 6 game with the Bills — previously scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 15 — will be played Sunday, Oct. 18, Schefter reports. However, if the Bills-Titans game ends up being moved to a different week, the Chiefs-Bills contest will be shifted back to its original date.

Only one NFL game has been played on a Tuesday since the 1940s. The Vikings and Eagles played a Tuesday-night game in 2010, after the Metrodome roof collapse. Rumblings of the Patriots-Chiefs Week 4 game being moved to Tuesday emerged, but the NFL decided to move that game back one day. Given the Titans’ far more prevalent issues with COVID-19, their new game time must be considered tentative.

The Titans have seen 23 players and staff members test positive for COVID-19, and their protocol-breaking offsite workouts are now the subject of an NFL investigation. They have continued to see positive tests emerge, and that trend continued through Thursday. The team placed two more players on its reserve/COVID-19 list today.

Unlike the Broncos-Patriots rescheduling, this Titans game being moved would throw the NFL schedule off axis. The league already moved Tennessee’s Week 4 game against the Steelers to Week 7. Should the NFL be forced to take the Titans-Bills matchup off its Week 5 slate, a new date would be difficult. The league has discussed the prospect of a Week 18 makeup window but has not finalized such a change yet. Another Titans positive test in the coming days may force the league to enact that emergency change.

South Notes: Texans, Titans, Bucs, Terrell

October 8th, 2020 at 5:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

Bill O’Brien‘s final weeks with the Texans were trying, with the team going 0-4 and the former head coach-GM’s near-universally panned DeAndre Hopkins trade benefitting the Cardinals early. But the since-fired HC also was involved in some internal turmoil, with Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reporting O’Brien engaged in heated disputes with J.J. Watt and first-year defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver at a recent practice (Twitter link). O’Brien also verbally sparred with other staffers in his final weeks, per Wilson. That can be expected given the Texans’ start, but the Watt argument may have been a tipping point. The dispute with Watt — arguably the defining player in Texans history — resulted in O’Brien losing the team, in the view of one source (via ESPN.com’s Dianna Russini). The O’Brien-Watt argument took place days before the Texans’ loss to the Steelers.

Here is the latest from the South divisions, moving first to more Titans news:

  • At least three separate Titans offsite workouts took place last week over a multiday period, veteran NFL reporter Paul Kuharsky notes. A group that included Ryan Tannehill was spotted working out Sept. 30 at Montgomery Bell Academy, an area high school, while Kuharsky reports a different group — comprised of defensive backs — worked out at a park near Belmont University that day. Multiple workouts took place at the park near Belmont, per Kuharsky, who adds that Mike Vrabel said during an Oct. 1 Zoom call he told players not to conduct offsite workouts. The NFL is now investigating the Titans for this, and punishment for the coronavirus-stricken team could be severe. Tight end MyCole Pruitt, one of the Titans’ positive testers, was not at the offsite workouts, per Titaninsider.com’s Terry McCormick (on Twitter).
  • Prior to the Titans being barred from their headquarters, the NFL showed images of players and staffers walking around the team’s facility without masks, Albert Breer of SI.com notes. Aside from players during workouts, team personnel are required to wear masks inside team facilities. Twenty-three Titans players and staffers have tested positive for COVID-19.
  • Good news for the Falcons on the virus front. First-round cornerback A.J. Terrell returned to practice this week, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com tweets. Terrell missed Atlanta’s past two games after being placed on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list just before the Falcons’ Week 3 game.
  • For the sect of non-Chris Godwin fantasy managers who might have missed this (and the narrower swath of LeSean McCoy deep-league GMs), both Buccaneers will miss Thursday night’s game against the Bears. The Bucs declared Godwin and Shady out. This marks Godwin’s third missed game this season; he is battling a hamstring injury. Mike Evans, however, will play, per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). Evans was a game-time decision because of an ankle injury.
  • Eli Apple is set to miss more time. After successfully rehabbing one hamstring injury, the Panthers cornerback has encountered another. Matt Rhule said the recent acquisition pulled his other hamstring, per Joe Person of The Athletic (on Twitter). Apple missed Carolina’s first three games because of his initial hamstring injury. He has played just six snaps (all on special teams) this season.
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