The NFL’s first coronavirus outbreak worsened over the weekend, as three more members of the Tennessee Titans, including one unidentified player, tested positive on Saturday, according to multiple reports.
In total, 16 members of the Titans organization — eight players and eight staff members — have tested positive for the virus since late September, when the Titans became the first team to have multiple players and other personnel contract the virus in the 2020 season.
The Titans’ additional cases were quickly overshadowed by news of Patriots star quarterback Cam Newton contracting the virus, which led to Sunday’s game between the Patriots and Chiefs being tentatively postponed until Monday or Tuesday. Kansas City practice squad quarterback Jordan Ta’amu also tested positive for the virus, according to multiple reports.
The Titans-Steelers Week 4 matchup initially scheduled for Sunday was pushed back to Oct. 25 in Week 7 after the first cases were reported, while the Titans’ Week 3 opponent, the Minnesota Vikings, has not had any members of its team test positive since the Tennessee outbreak began.
NFL’s chief medical officer Allen Sills in an interview Friday with the Washington Post said the Titans’ facility will remain closed until the league is “convinced that we’ve reached the end of the transmission event that occurred earlier this week,” but that he was “cautiously optimistic” the NFL would be able to complete its season.
MLB completed its season last month even after two teams — the Marlins and Cardinals — suffered COVID-19 outbreaks, due in large part to doubleheaders, a luxury the NFL doesn’t have.
The Titans’ next game is scheduled for Oct. 11 against the Buffalo Bills in Nashville.
Tennessee (3-0) on Saturday placed defensive end Jeffery Simmons on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, which is dedicated to players who have either contracted the virus or have come in close contact with someone who has tested positive. DaQuan Jones, linebacker Kamalei Correa, long-snapper Beau Brinkley, tight end Tommy Hudson (practice squad), receivers Adam Humphries, Cameron Batson (practice squad) and cornerback Kristian Fulton were added to the list earlier in the week.
Titans coach Mike Vrabel told reporters on Wednesday that some of the players who tested positive were experiencing flu-like symptoms.
NFL players and personnel are tested for the virus daily, and in an effort to prevent future outbreaks, the league on Friday issued a memo mandating that players and coaches not leave their team’s city during their bye week so they can continue to be tested during that time.
The league also has fined several coaches $100,000 and teams $250,000 for not wearing masks on the sidelines during games and on Wednesday threatened to take away draft picks and suspend coaches who do not comply with the directive.
Officials from the NFL and Players Association were in Nashville on Friday to investigate the Titans spread of the coronavirus, according to multiple reports.
