Defensive Lineman Placed on COVID-19 List
The Tennessee Titans suffered a loss hours before kickoff Sunday.
Defensive lineman Teair Tart was placed on the COVID-19 reserve list, which means he will not play in the regular-season finale against Houston.
The undrafted rookie out of Florida International had appeared in seven of the previous eight contests. His missed the Dec. 13 contest at Jacksonville because he served a one-game NFL suspension for an on-field incident the previous week against Cleveland.
Tart, who is 6-foot-2, 304 pounds, has been credited with seven tackles, two quarterback pressures, one tackle for loss and one pass defensed. He has yet to record a quarterback sack.
He spent the entire offseason with the Titans and was on the practice squad for the first seven games. He made his NFL debut Nov. 8 against Chicago, a day after he was signed to the active roster and has been a part of the defensive line rotation ever since.
“I think Tart continues to improve,” coach Mike Vrabel said recently. “… He’s a young player, played a few games. He's done some good things and I know that Teair will continue to improve.”
NFL rules established for this season prohibit teams from saying whether a player tested positive for COVID-19 or merely experienced a high-risk exposure. If it is the latter, Tart will miss the Titans’ first playoff game as well, provided there is one, of course.
Tennessee (10-5) needs to win Sunday at Houston or to get specific results in other games in order to earn its third postseason appearance in four years. The contest with the Texans (4-11) kicks off at 3:25 p.m. (CST).
