After a time of consideration regarding contingency plans in the face of the Titans’ ongoing issues with COVID, the NFL has endeavored to solve the problem created by the cancellation of the Titans-Steelers Week 4 matchup.
Per a league statement, the NFL has moved Tennessee-Pittsburgh to Week 7, and has also shifted the scheduled Week 7 Steelers-Ravens game to Week 8. Per the league, the Steelers and Titans now have a Week 4 bye. The Ravens’ bye, originally scheduled for Week 8, will now take place in Week 7.
Tennessee-Pittsburgh will now air on Sunday, October 25 at 1:00 PM ET on CBS. Steelers-Ravens will now air Sunday, November 1 at 1:00 PM ET on CBS.
The Titans are next scheduled to play the Bills on Sunday, October 11, but there’s no guarantee of that happening on schedule. Tennessee had two more players test positive for COVID, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, bringing the total of players and team personnel to 13. The Titans’ facility is shut down until further notice.
On Friday, the NFL sent out a memo to all 32 teams with updated and more stringent testing and containment measures
The NFL informed clubs today it has reached an agreement with the NFLPA to extend daily testing — and that players and coaches are not allowed to leave the city during their bye week. pic.twitter.com/j8FnrB5oF4
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 2, 2020
“I told (the players) to try to mentally recover from an emotional few days so that we can proceed with our season and build on a 3-0 start – that was my message to them,” head coach Mike Vrabel said this week, when asked what he’s told his players about the delays.
“I’ve asked the players to decompress mentally, to try and take care of their bodies. And those players that are on the injury report to await instructions on when they would be able to go into treatment, with just a small numbers of players at a time with masks and face shields. I asked the staff to get away, to not meet, to not worry about Buffalo, to relax and to focus on moving ahead. That’s what I asked them all to do.”
The Titans will obviously have to get their internal issues under control before they’re allowed to play again. NFL and NFLPA officials are in Nashville today to assess the situation.
On Thursday, the Vikings — Tennessee’s Week 3 opponent — announced that their team had no positive tests, and are preparing to take on the Houston Texans on Sunday.