Tag: Dez Bryant

Ravens Dez Bryant tweets he’s negative for COVID-19

One of the few things Dallas Cowboys fans had to look forward to down the stretch of a miserable, now 3-9 season was being able to watch former star receiver Dez Bryant. Yes, it would’ve been in the uniform of the Baltimore Ravens, but with a lost …

One of the few things Dallas Cowboys fans had to look forward to down the stretch of a miserable, now 3-9 season was being able to watch former star receiver Dez Bryant. Yes, it would’ve been in the uniform of the Baltimore Ravens, but with a lost campaign most were planning to celebrate any accomplishment from the franchise’s all-time touchdown reception leader, especially if he was able to Throw Up the X one last time.

Unfortunately, a pregame positive COVID-19 test took Bryant off the field during pregame warmups and he was sent home for the game. Bryant was clearly distraught and after tweeting the news to the world, followed it up by proclaiming he was thinking about sitting out the remainder of the season. Well, it turns out that Bryant may have had a false positive result, as the receiver tweeted out Thursday afternoon that he has tested negative in back-to-back tests.

The Ravens, of course, didn’t need Bryant to defeat Dallas 34-17, but he will be a key part of their campaign to return to the playoffs. More importantly though, anyone who can avoid catching the virus that is currently killing thousands of Americans by the day is a blessing. Bryant’s tweet seems to show frustration with the fact he tested positively and was taken out of his opportunity to have a reunion game against his former employer of eight seasons, but in the grand scheme of things, being negative is clearly a good, no great thing.

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Dez Bryant’s COVID-19 diagnosis, once again, shows there is a price on public health

Why did this game go on even with a positive diagnosis?

Dez Bryant dropped a bomb on the NFL when he announced that he tested positive for COVID-19 just minutes before the Baltimore Ravens kicked off against the Dallas Cowboys, Bryant’s former team.

According to NFL Network, Dez Bryant received inconclusive results for two COVID-19 tests prior to the game kicking off, but the third test that he took was positive for the virus.

Why was he able to warm up on the field with inconclusive test results for a deadly virus that’s currently ravaging through the country? Who knows! However, that is exactly what happened.

(Warning: Explicit language in tweet)

No other Ravens players tested positive for the virus and somehow, no high-risk close contacts were tagged, which meant the game was safe to play by our desensitized 2020 standards.

The NFL released a statement via ProFootballTalk saying that the league had planned for a scenario like this and their protocols worked. “Contact tracing was conducted from yesterday and today using the contact tracing device and the standard interviews,” McCarthy said in an email to ProFootballTalk. “There were no high-risk contacts identified.”

Bryant posed an interesting question on Twitter that many people were asking as well: How on Earth was this game played? How were no high-risk close contacts identified?

Unsurprisingly, Bryant was interacting with many of his former Cowboys teammates prior to the game starting. Bryant is one of the most decorated receivers in team history, donned the legendary #88 jersey previously worn by Michael Irvin and Drew Pearson.

This game was a big deal for Bryant and it was unfortunate that he was unable to play, but he was seen interacting with members of the Cowboys organization just hours before the game began in a since-deleted tweet by Ryan Mink, the editorial director for the Baltimore Ravens.

If Bryant hadn’t tweeted out that he tested positive for COVID-19, we might not have known that he was positive for the virus considering how the Ravens initially announced that he was out for the game. Baltimore announced, 25 minutes before the game was scheduled to start, that Bryant was out for the game with an “illness”. Yea, an illness. Nothing more to see here!

If there is a bit of dark humor involved in all of this, the Ravens actually tweeted their “announcement” about Bryant’s diagnosis 15 minutes after Bryant had told the world about his positive COVID-19 test.

We already knew! And they still attempted a lackadaisical coverup!

This just continues the inconsistent, and frankly inconsequential, trend that the NFL has set with their COVID-19 protocols. The almighty dollar reigns supreme over anything and everything else, which isn’t a groundbreaking statement for anyone familiar with this loud and proud country.

The end of the regular season is right around the corner with just four games remaining on the schedule. Since the NFL has refused to add extra weeks to help soften the blow of COVID-19 running unchecked through the United States, they have no choice but to power through and play these games no matter what day of the week it is.

That’s how the Ravens have ended up playing on a Wednesday and a freaking Tuesday — two days that no one associated with the NFL before this season. That’s the real reason of why the game went on even with a COVID-19 diagnosis less than an hour before kickoff. And that mentality is why we’re still struggling to get through the pandemic almost a year after it started devastating this country.

Money talks and the NFL has it in droves.

 

Instant Analysis: Ravens 34-17 whooping of Cowboys easily explained

Lamar Jackson and company ran all over the Cowboys defense in Week 13, dropping them to 3-9 on the 2020 season.

The Dallas Cowboys once again fell short in Week 13, losing for the sixth time in their past seven games, 34-17 to the Baltimore Ravens. The game’s vibe was quickly ruined after Baltimore WR Dez Bryant was unexpectedly ruled out due to COVID during pregame warmups, casting an ominous cloud over much of the game.

The subsequent play on the field didn’t do much to dissuade the uneasy feeling Cowboys fans have had in watching the team over the last three-plus months. The loss dropped Dallas to 3-9 at the three-quarter pole of the 2020 season. Baltimore improved to 7-5 and kept their playoff hopes alive for another week.

NFL fans could relate to Dez Bryant’s ‘drink some wine and cope’ tweet

We know how you feel, Dez.

Dez Bryant was just a few minutes away from facing his former team on Tuesday night when he was called off the field during warmups for a COVID-19 test.

Moments later he found out he had a positive test result and he wouldn’t be playing in the Ravens-Cowboys game in Baltimore.

It was a huge bummer for Bryant, who was really looking forward to facing Dallas, especially after it took him so much time to get back in the NFL. Bryant was frustrated and tweeted after his test that he was going to quit for the season because he couldn’t take it.

Then he tweeted his immediate plans:

NFL fans could relate to that:

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Dez Bryant says he’s quitting rest of 2020 season after positive COVID-19 test

After getting pulled from the field just minutes before kickoff, Baltimore Ravens WR Dez Bryant said he’s quitting this season.

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Dez Bryant got pulled from Tuesday’s game with just minutes to spare before kickoff, with Bryant saying he tested positive for COVID-19. Frustrated over the abrupt change in status and missing out on playing his former team, Bryant took to Twitter to say he’s quitting the rest of the season.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Bryant’s daily PCR test had been inconclusive. But with Baltimore being so close to the testing lab, they got the gameday results back earlier than other teams would have, prompting Bryant to be pulled from warm-ups. Unfortunately, Bryant had already been on the field for individual workouts and had been hugging/shaking hands with several Cowboys players and coaches.

AP Photo/Nick Wass

It’s worth taking Bryant’s statement with a grain of salt, however. He was clearly and rightfully upset, venting his frustrations on social media. He continued to vent for several minutes, including questioning the NFL for allowing this game to be played, before just calling it a night with some wine.

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Ravens WR Dez Bryant quits the season after testing positive for COVID-19

The Ravens, with or without Bryant, play the Browns on Monday night in Week 14

The drama with the Baltimore Ravens and their ongoing COVID-19 issues still isn’t over. And it just might have cost them a prominent player.

Wide receiver Dez Bryant was poised to get considerable playing time against his longtime team, the Dallas Cowboys, in the Tuesday night matchup in Baltimore. But Bryant was yanked off the field less than 20 minutes before the game after testing positive for COVID-19 in a rapid test.

Bryant, never one to hide his emotions, tweeted shortly thereafter that he’s done with the NFL for the rest of the season. Noting “I can’t deal with this”, Bryant quit just as the oddly scheduled game was about to kick off.

Bryant had seen some playing time with the Ravens after missing almost three full seasons. The wideout had a well-publicized audition with the Browns in that timeframe but never joined Cleveland.

Bryant also tweeted out something that definitely makes you wonder about the NFL’s protocols…

The Ravens, with or without Bryant, play at Cleveland on Monday Night Football in Week 14. It will be their third game in 13 days after the NFL bent over backward to accommodate the COVID-19 outbreak caused by a Ravens staffer not following protocols.

Dez Bryant tweets he is done for season after positive COVID-19 test

Dez Bryant was pulled from the Ravens’ lineup due to a positive COVID-19 test

Dez Bryant had to be excited about facing the Dallas Cowboys, his former team, with the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday.

And it all fell apart prior to the game when the veteran wide receiver was found to have tested positive for COVID-19.

According to the NFL, Bryant’s PCR test Tuesday morning was inconclusive, as was the re-run of the test. The lab is in Maryland, so that’s why the results came back on Tuesday evening.

The subsequent point-of-contact PCR test at the stadium was positive and Bryant was removed, as per NFL protocol.

(NSFW language in tweet)

Bryant took to Twitter and said he is done for 2020.

Bryant asked another question, which many have to be wondering:

The rationale for playing, which the NFL seems to always manage to find:

 

Dez Bryant says he tested positive for COVID-19 moments before kickoff against Cowboys

Dez Bryant was warming up on the field before he was tested.

Dez Bryant was just minutes away from facing his old team, the Dallas Cowboys, on Tuesday night when he says he was called in from warmups to take a COVID-19 test.

He then said he failed that test and was scratched from the Ravens roster.

Ouch.

The Ravens, of course, have been hit hard by COVID-19 the past few weeks. It was why last week’s game with the Steelers was pushed back three times and it’s why tonight’s game with the Cowboys was pushed back from last Thursday.

Bryant has worked so hard to come back to the NFL and while he would have loved to have faced his old team, here’s hoping the best for his health.

Here’s his tweet, with a bad word in it so run for the hills if you don’t like those things:

Shortly after that he tweeted that he wants to be done for the season:

That he was warming up with COVID doesn’t seem like the safest thing for the NFL and a Ravens team that has been dealing with this for weeks.

Here’s the news of the Ravens scratching him from the lineup:

That’s a bummer.

Dez Bryant says he tested positive for COVID-19 just before kickoff vs. Cowboys

The perfect ending to his comeback has been squashed as Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Dez Bryant says he tested positive for COVID-19

It seemed like the perfect way to cap a comeback for Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Dez Bryant. But alas, Bryant said he was pulled from warm ups and tested positive for COVID-19, ending a potential revenge game against his former team before he ever had a chance

Bryant joined Baltimore this season after a two-year absence from football. The last time Bryant had played in the regular season was with Dallas in 2017. Though he downplayed the matchup this week, saying his release from the team was “water under the bridge,” few would have blamed Bryant if this game meant just a little more to him.

The Ravens have been battling a COVID-19 outbreak that saw this week’s game reschedule twice and last week’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers rescheduled three times. Baltimore placed a total of 23 players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list following Week 11’s loss to the Tennessee Titans and if Bryant did indeed test positive for COVID-19, he’ll make the 27th Ravens player to go on the list this season.

Bryant had been on the field at M&T Bank Stadium for individual warmups a few hours before kickoff. If Bryant’s test isn’t a false positive, finding out so late after he had practiced this week, warmed up at the stadium, and had talked to several Cowboys players, leaves the potential for further outbreaks on both teams.

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News: How much fun was Dak, Cowboys’ most underrated; Dalton battles old foe

The Cowboys have underachieved in 2020, that’s for sure. But which player has flown the most under the radar and had a sneaky-good season? The answer may be trickier than expected. In other news just prior to the club’s first-ever Tuesday game, …

The Cowboys have underachieved in 2020, that’s for sure. But which player has flown the most under the radar and had a sneaky-good season? The answer may be trickier than expected.

In other news just prior to the club’s first-ever Tuesday game, we’re talking about a former wide receiver facing the Cowboys for the first time, a new Dallas player who knows a thing or two (or sixteen) about playing the Ravens, and remembering another ex-Cowboy who’s making waves with his new team. We’ve got injury news to recap, including the superstar who’s been placed on IR and a position group that won’t have two (more) of its big hitters this week. All that, plus a look at how the NFC East is shaking out, an early preview of Week 17’s rematch with Jason Garrett and the Giants, and a super-early discussion of how COVID-19 will impact Dak Prescott and the franchise tag. Here’s the News and Notes.