Bryant reunion with Cowboys apparently canceled by COVID
BALTIMORE» Baltimore Ravens receiver Dez Bryant was scratched from Tuesday night’s game against his former team after apparently testing positive for COVID-19.
Bryant left the field in the middle of warming up with the team, and the Ravens announced less than an hour before their game against Dallas that he was scratched with an illness. Bryant wrote on Twitter: “Tell me why they pull me from warming up so I can go get tested... my (expletive) come back positive... I tested positive for Covid ...”
Later, he posted: “Yea I’m going to go ahead and call it a quit for the rest of the season... I can’t deal with this.”
Bryant, 32, played eight years for Dallas before being cut in April 2018. He latched on with the Ravens in October and was looking forward to facing his former team for the first time.
Union sees no need for bubble
The NFL players believe the season can be completed on time without the league moving into a version of a postseason bubble like other sports have as long as everyone follows the rules already in place meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
NFLPA President JC Tretter and Executive Director DeMaurice Smith held a virtual news conference to discuss the challenges the players have felt this season while playing during a global pandemic and address how things will change in the future.
Both Tretter and Smith said that the rules in place requiring players and staff to be tested daily, wear masks, socially distance and have tracers for contact tracing have helped prevent the spread of the virus.
They believe if everyone adheres to those rules over the next two months there would be no need for teams to sequester in hotels to avoid contact with the public.
“When we all follow the protocols, they work and they work well,” Tretter said.
Tretter and Smith didn’t rule out the possibility that circumstances could change if the rate of infection in surrounding communities continues to rise, but said the situation in football is different with much bigger rosters than the NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball.
Browns’ Teller placed on COVID list
CLEVELAND» Cleveland starting right guard Wyatt Teller was placed on the COVID-19 reserve list, putting him in jeopardy of missing next Monday’s game against Baltimore.
Teller has played as well as anyone on Cleveland’s offensive line this season and has had a big hand in the Browns leading the NFL in rushing. Teller did not test positive, but had close contact with an infected person, who is not affiliated with the Browns.