The Tennessee Titans will not have a game this weekend due to their COVID-19 outbreak, and it’s now possible their Week 5 contest against the Buffalo Bills could also be postponed. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, two additional Titans players have tested positive for the coronavirus. That brings the total number of positive cases in the Titans organization to 13, seven of which are players. Schefter then stated if the Titans continue to have new positive cases, the game next week could be pushed back.
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network said officials from the NFL and NFL Player’s Association are in Nashville to review the situation with the Titans and their issues with the virus. Originally, the Titans were set to play the Pittsburgh Steelers in Nashville on Sunday. However, when the team did their COVID-19 testing earlier this week, it was determined that eight members (three players and five personnel members) have tested positive for the virus, leading to the league postponing the Week 4 matchup. This past Sunday, the Titans took on the Minnesota Vikings, but the Vikings will play their game this Sunday as they have reported no positive tests.
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On Friday, the NFL informed all 32 teams it has reached an agreement with the NFLPA to extend daily testing until further notice, according to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network. This includes bye weeks, which means players and coaches can’t leave the city when the team is on their bye week. Titans coach Mike Vrabel talked about the team’s COVID-19 protocols to reporters this week.
“When we get the results early in the morning, Todd [Toriscelli] and his staff and Adrian [Dixon] begin the contact tracing; they do the follow-up testing, and then we proceed from there with the protocol as it relates to any of the positives that would come up,” Vrabel said as reported by ESPN. “There’s a POC test which happens; and again, very confident that we’ve followed the guidelines with the protocol that the league and the players’ association have set forth as it relates to identifying those persons of close contact by using the tracing devices.”
If the Titans can get the outbreak under control soon, their game against the Bills should be good to go for next week. As for their game against the Steelers, it’s possible it could be played in Week 7. The Steelers are scheduled to play the Baltimore Ravens that week, but that game could be moved to Week 8 since it’s the scheduled bye week for both teams.
