Titans-Steelers Game to Be Played Later This Season After 2 Additional Titans Test Positive for COVID-19

The game between the Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers is not happening at all this week. On Thursday morning, the NFL announced the game will be played later this season after two additional members of the Titans tested positive for COVID-19. On Wednesday, the league originally announced the game, which was scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, was postponed but was looking to have the game played on Monday or Tuesday.

“​The Pittsburgh-Tennessee game scheduled for Week 4 will be rescheduled to later this season after one additional Titans player and one personnel member tested positive for COVID-19 today,” the league said in a statement. “An announcement of the new game date will be made shortly. The decision to postpone the game was made to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel. The Titans facility will remain closed and the team will continue to have no in-person activities until further notice.”

This began on Tuesday when the Titans revealed three players and five personnel members tested positive for the virus, leading to them shutting down their team facility. The Minnesota Vikings also shut down their facility since they played the Titans last week. However, the Vikings had no positive results in their latest round of coronavirus testing Wednesday. Their facility is scheduled to open back up on Thursday, and they will play their game on Sunday against the Houston Texans.

Titans coach Mike Vrabel told reporters some of the players who tested positive were experiencing flu-like symptoms. “I know there’s going to be a lot of questions about the game and about who’s to blame and where it started. Nobody’s to blame. We’re in a pandemic,” Vrabel said as reported by ESPN. Before the NFL’s announcement, the league told the Steelers to prepare as if they are going to play on Monday or Tuesday.

“We’re going to trust the medical experts,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said to reporters when asked about his level of concern traveling to Tennessee as reported by CBS Sports. “If they deem it safe for us to proceed, we’re going to go down and play and play to win.” It’s possible the Titans-Steelers game could be moved to Week 7 since it’s the Titans’ scheduled bye. The Steelers and Ravens are scheduled to play in Week 7, but the game could be pushed to Week 8, which is the scheduled bye week for both teams.