NFL Reschedules Raiders vs. Buccaneers Game Due to COVID-19 Concerns

The NFL made a minor change to their Week 7 schedule. On Thursday, the league announced the Tampa [...]

By Brian Jones

The NFL made a minor change to their Week 7 schedule. On Thursday, the league announced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers versus Las Vegas Raiders game, originally scheduled for 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC, will now start at 4:05 p.m. ET on Fox. The Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals game will now be featured on Sunday Night Football.

These decisions were made out of an abundance of caution to ensure that a game would be available for fans on Sunday Night Football," the NFL said in a statement. The Raiders are currently dealing with coronavirus concerns as four starting offensive lineman — center Rodney Hudson, guards Gabe Jackson and Denzelle Good, and tackle Kolton Miller — as well as safety Johnathan Abram, were recently placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. According to multiple reports, the good news is that the Raiders-Bucs game is still on track to be played on Sunday afternoon, as no new positive tests were reported on Friday. "We expect the Buccaneers-Raiders game to be played on Sunday afternoon," the league stated. "Scheduling decisions are made to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches, and game day personnel and in consultation with medical experts."

"We're listening to the league and they're advising us on what to do," Raiders coach Jon Gruden said via ESPN when he announced they he sent all five starting offensive lineman home after Bown was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. "We used other linemen and adjusted practice. We'll have five [offensive linemen] on Sunday. We'll be ready to go." The news of the Raiders COVID-19 outbreak comes days after the team drew criticism after several players attended a charity dinner at a country club in the Las Vegas area. Dragonridge Country Club was fined $10,930 for an event that "did not comply with COVID-19 safety directives."

The Raiders will be shorthanded on Sunday, which is not a good thing considering they face a Bucs team with a lot of momentum. This past Sunday, Tom Brady threw two touchdowns and Ronald Jones rushed for two more to give the Bucs the 38-10 win over the Green Bay Packers, who were undefeated at the time. Gruden was the Bucs coach from 2002-2008 and led the team to a Super Bowl win in his first season.

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