The NFL had already postponed the Week 4 Titans-Steelers game due to the Titans’ rash of positive COVID tests. Through Friday, a total of five players and eight members of the team’s staff had tested positive for the coronavirus, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, that number increased over the weekend.
Outbreak now official: Three more Titans’ players tested positive today in Tennessee, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 3, 2020
So far, receivers Adam Humphries and Cameron Batson, nose tackle DaQuan Jones, linebacker Kamalei Correa, cornerback Kristian Fulton, long-snapper Beau Brinkley, and practice squad tight end Tommy Hudson have been placed on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list.
The NFL thought it had put this problem to rest with the postponement of the Steelers game to Week 7, which also moved the Steelers-Ravens game from Week 7 to Week 8 and gave Baltimore a Week 7 bye. But the inability of the Titans organization to keep the virus in check — which, at this point in time, seems to be limited to just one organization — may well add further complications to the schedule, not to mention the obvious attendant health issues in the building.
The Titans are next scheduled to play on Sunday, October 18, when they ostensibly welcome the Texans to town. But given the scope of this outbreak — and at this point, that’s what we can call it, how is the league supposed to manage this?
NFL and NFLPA officials were in Nashville on Friday to investigate the cause. In addition, the NFL has sent memos to all 32 teams in which it is now mandated that daily testing will be extended, and all teams are required to stay in their cities during their bye weeks. The league also sent out a memo encouraging all players and staff to get flu shots.
But if the Titans keep coming up positive, it’s going to be something the league has to treat as a public health issue as opposed to a schedule quick. The good news is that the Vikings, who the Titans played in Week 3, have had no positive tests as a result, and will play the Texans this Sunday.
In a time when COVID outbreaks have obviously extended to the highest levels of American concern, this situation certainly bears monitoring.