RAIDERS TAKING BIG COVID-19 HIT
Ravaged NFL roster preparing to face vengeful Chiefs team
Karma can be nasty.
The Las Vegas Raiders could wind up getting a reminder of that twice this week.
They were already going to be in tough Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, who will be slobbering in anticipation of avenging an Oct. 11 loss between the teams and an apparent “victory lap” the Raiders did around Arrowhead Stadium in the team bus.
Now the Raiders may have to face the Chiefs without most of their starting defence.
Within 24 hours of defensive end Clelin Ferrell testing positive for the novel coronavirus on Tuesday, the Raiders added eight more members of the defence to the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Linebacker Cory Littleton and right tackle Trent Brown have yet to return from the list since being placed on it Nov. 12 and Nov. 5, respectively.
“We'll be ready for the game on Sunday,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden told Kansas City reporters. “It's what you have to do. Everybody has to adapt to a lot of things in every phase of life. We had to go through some things before. We'll be there on Sunday and we'll be prepared. We're excited to compete.”
Of the nine players to go on the list this week, eight are close contacts and could return for Sunday's game, if they can test negative the rest of the week.
Even if some do return, they'll have missed important preparation time heading into a game against the Super Bowl champs.
You may remember the Raiders were without five members of their O-line, including four starters who were close contacts to Brown, for a 45-20 loss in Week 7 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
You may also remember Gruden being fined for not properly wearing a mask on the sidelines. The Raiders and Gruden were collectively dinged for about US$1.2 million and stripped of a sixth-round pick for breaking protocols.
Yes, karma can be nasty.
BY THE NUMBERS: The COVID-19 figures continue to rise as sure as the sun in Texas, with Tarrant County (part of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area, population: 2.103 million) reporting a single-day high of 2,112 cases Wednesday and the public health director stating only three dozen ICU beds remain available. And in other news, the Dallas Cowboys are not only the far and away the leaders in league attendance, but owner Jerry Jones is hoping to build on the 25,750 average through five games at AT&T Stadium.
“We've had almost a third of the attendance in the NFL, the whole NFL, at our games, and
I'm proud of that,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan.
“Our stadium is particularly suited for airiness, openness, air circulation and it's borne out. ... We've had literally no one report that they've had a contact and gotten any contact from COVID from coming to our football games. No one.”
Meanwhile, a Tarrant Country spokesman said eight people who tested positive told contact tracers they were at the stadium before contracting the virus. So by no one, Jones must mean only a very small number.
Only six other teams have hit double digits in average attendance: Jacksonville (15,211), Kansas City (13,188), Tampa
Bay (12,554), Houston (12,377), Miami (11,872) and Tennessee (11,348). Fourteen teams have not opened their doors to fans. DOWN AND OUT: Sunday's Carolina-Detroit game never did have much appeal. Now both teams are expected to be missing marquee players. Panthers QB Teddy Bridgewater (knee) is “unlikely” to play, along with team superstar RB Christian McCaffrey (shoulder). And while Detroit QB Matthew Stafford (thumb) is questionable, rookie RB D'Andre Swift is doubtful because of concussion that may have been suffered in Thursday's practice.