The NFL had to shuffle the schedule slightly after several Tennessee Titans players and personnel tested positive for the coronavirus. After the initial positive tests, the league was targeting Monday or Tuesday as a make-up date after postponing it from Sunday.
On Friday, the league announced that the game will now be played in Week 7, giving the Titans and Steelers an unexpected bye in Week 4. It’s unfortunate for both teams, but it’s a reminder of just how difficult the virus is to contain.
Sean McVay shared his thoughts on the outbreak Thursday when asked about it by reporters, saying the NFL has done a good job so far, but Tennessee’s situation should remind everyone that it’s highly contagious and can spread very easily.
“I think it just goes to show you how good things have been going. But, how volatile this situation is potentially in an instance like what’s occurred with the Titans and the Steelers game,” he said. “So, I think things have been going so well, I think human nature is that you can kind of loosen up and feel like it’s not there, but this is a good reminder that the sense of urgency has got to remain in place every single day regardless of what these results and continue to come away in good shape on our end.”
The Rams haven’t had any issues with COVID-19 since the season started, though rookie Terrell Lewis did contract it in training camp, landing him on the reserve/COVID-19 list for short while. As we saw on “Hard Knocks,” the Rams took great precautions to prevent the spread of the virus, even redesigning their locker room and facility in Thousand Oaks.
That was an important step toward limiting the risk of players and staff members getting COVID-19.
“There’s so little information just based on time that we don’t know about this, but what you do know is you can at least risk-mitigate it,” he added. “Hopefully that minimizes the possibilities of anybody getting it. What we’ve seen, I think it’s been a good job by the NFL that to act fast and not let this be something that becomes bigger. … It’s been a good process by these guys. It’s unfortunate that we’ve had to move a game back.”
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