The Latest: Titans' COVID-19 Outbreak
NASHVILLE – Three weeks into the NFL season, all eyes are on the Tennessee Titans – and not for the reasons they would have hoped.
At 3-0, the Titans have been one of the league’s most determined and resilient teams thus far. They have won those three games by a combined six points, each on a Stephen Gostkowski field goal inside the final two minutes.
Tuesday, though, the NFL confirmed that three players and five staff members tested positive for COVID-19. Those results came three days after outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen tested positive and was forced to miss Sunday’s 31-30 victory at Minnesota.
All in-person activities have been suspended indefinitely, and the status of Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Nissan Stadium, which is to be the first Tennessee game with fans in the stands, is uncertain. In-person activities for the Vikings also have been suspended.
Here is the latest on what is a developing story:
• The Titans released a brief statement about the positive tests:
“Out of the abundance of caution, the organization has decided to work remotely today as we follow NFL protocols related to the Covid-19 virus. Several tests have come back positive and are working through the process of confirming them. We will have more information tomorrow.”
• A short time later, the NFL and NFLPA released a joint statement with additional information:
• The Vikings released a statement in which they say there have been no positive tests within their team.
• The Titans reportedly have been told they will not be able to conduct any in-person activities before Saturday.
• The Steelers say they have been told to proceed as if the game will be played.
• The NFL continues to say it has no immediate plans to cancel Sunday's scheduled games between the Titans and Steelers and Vikings and Texans.
• Commissioner Roger Goodell sends a memo to team executives, in which he said, "This is not unexpected."
• Among the contingency plans for Sunday's game is to move it to Monday in order to allow for additional testing and extensive contact tracing.
• SI/MMQB senior writer Albert Breer develops a timeline of the critical moments in testing. Among them: Tuesday's positive tests were conducted on Monday and retested for verification of Tuesday morning. All eight were part of the traveling party for Sunday's victory at Minnesota.
• Anyone interested in a little Tuesday Night Football?
• The daily NFL transactions have been published, and we know now that nose tackle DaQuan Jones and long snapper Beau Brinkley are two of the three players placed on the COVID-19 reserve list. The third is practice squad tight end Tommy Hudson.
• In announcing those moves, the Titans say they have added veteran running back D'Onta Foreman and veteran defensive back Maurice Smith to their practice squad.
• Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, whose handling of the pandemic in the state, has been widely criticized as wishful thinking, is among those who want to see football at Nissan Stadium on Sunday.
• The officials who worked Sunday's game between the Titans and Vikings will be benched this week "out of an abundance of caution."
• Details on the league's COVID policy, courtesy of the NFL Players' Association:
• Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that he has been told to prepare as if the game will take place as scheduled Sunday. Any talks about whether to postpone or cancel don't involve him.
"Those discussions are ongoing. That is their charge," Tomlin said, via AllSteelers (part of the SI.com NFL network). "My mentality, our mentality, is we're going to proceed until regularly scheduled until we receive further information."
WEDNESDAY
• According to SI.com senior NFL reporter Albert Breer, one positive test for COVID-19 among Titans players, no positive tests among staff members from Tuesday's tests.
• Safety Kevin Byard confirmed the positive test a short time later and talked about the possibility that more are to come.
• Sunday's game with the Steelers will be postponed, but only a day or two, according to NFL.com's Ian Rapoport.
• The NFL officially announces that the game between Tennessee and Pittsburgh has been postponed. No immediate determination on when it will be played.
The complete NFL statement:
The Steelers-Titans game, originally scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, will be rescheduled to allow additional time for further daily COVID-19 testing and to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel. Details on the new game date and time on either Monday or Tuesday will be announced as soon as possible.
The NFL's football operations department sent two memos to teams Wednesday morning emphasizing the importance of compliance with the league's COVID-19 protocols and the consequences for those who don't.
• The NFL's daily transactions are out and Kamalei Correa is the latest Titans' player to test positive for the coronavirus. The Titans formally announced that he has been added to the COVID-19 reserve list.
Correa has been lightly used through the first three games and has been credited with two tackles and two quarterback pressures.
• Speculation is growing about the game being moved to Monday somewhere around dinnertime.
THURSDAY
• More positive tests for the Titans. One more staff member and one more player have been diagnosed with the coronavirus. That makes five players and six staff members -- and it forces the NFL to postpone this week's game against Pittsburgh indefinitely.
The NFL's official statement:
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. 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.
• Now what?
• One national reporter elects to look on the bright side ...
• Of course, there is the fantasy football fallout as well.
• So far, so good for the Vikings, Tennessee's opponent on Sunday. Of course, the typical gestation period for COVID is five-14 days. So, the next few rounds of testing will be critical.
• So, now it is possible that the Titans' COVID outbreak could have an impact on the Major League Baseball playoffs.
• Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson writes that the Titans' situation exposes a major flaw in the NFL's approach to playing the season amid a pandemic. Robinson writes:
Incubation.
More specifically, the 3-7 day period when a person can become infected with COVID-19 and still pass point-of-care testing. It’s a reality that creates the problem the NFL faces now, where a person can test positive for the virus on a Saturday and create a late-week hole where the newly infected (to whom they may have spread the virus) unknowingly slip through testing barriers by virtue of an undetectable incubation period.
• Rookie cornerback Kristian Fulton is the latest Titans player to test positive for the coronavirus. His addition to the COVD-19 reserve list means Tennessee's top two picks in this year's draft are now on that list.
• The NFL sends a memo to clubs that urges everyone to "act as if every person you come in contact with has a COVID infection ... " and includes enhanced "post-COVID exposure protocol."
• The NFL's chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, who is based in Nashville, would not speculate to NFL.com's Judy Battista about when the Titans might be able to resume practice.
• The bus driver in Minneapolis (see earlier today) has tested positive for COVID-19.
FRIDAY
• Two more Titans players reportedly have tested positive for COVID-19. That brings the count to seven this week.
• The NFL sent a memo to all teams, as reported by SI.com's Albert Breer, that details an extension of the testing policy. It also says players will be fined $50,000 for a first missed test and will be suspended for a second missed test.
• The Titans' game with the Pittsburgh Steelers, originally scheduled for this Sunday, has been moved to Oct. 25, the NFL announced.
• The Minnesota Vikings still have not had a positive test, and they returned to the practice field.
• Meanwhile, it seems less and less likely that the Titans will be able to get back to work at the start of next week.
• The Titans have announced that today's additions to the COVID-19 reserve list are wide receivers Adam Humphries and Cameron Batson. Humphries is tied for the team lead with 15 receptions through the first three contests.
SATURDAY
• The hits just keep on coming for the Titans. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, one more player and two staff members are now confirmed to have the coronavirus as a result of Friday's tests.
The incubation period has not passed. So, more positive tests seem likely. The fact that players have been separated from one another since Tuesday is the only reason to believe this won't spread through the entire roster at some point.
• And it is no longer just the Titans. New England quarterback Cam Newton has tested positive for COVID-19, according to multiple reports.
• Sunday's game between the Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs has been postponed.
• The Minnesota Vikings still have had no positive tests. It seems that the Titans did not pass the infection to the Vikings during last Sunday's contest.
SUNDAY
• According to multiple reports, the NFL and NFLPA are investigating the Titans for possible violations of the league's protocols, which could be fueling the current COVID-19 outbreak.
• Two more Titans -- one player and one staff member -- have tested positive for COVID-19. That makes six straight days of positive tests in which nine players and eight staff members have been found to have the coronavirus.
• The Titans remain the first -- and thus far only -- team to experience an outbreak.
• The Titans announce that fullback Khari Blasingame will be added to the team's COVID-19 reserve list. The official transaction will take place Monday and will make Blasingame the ninth player in a week to be moved to the reserve list created this year for coronavirus cases.
