League shuffles schedules after positive COVID-19 tests
For the second consecutive week, the NFL has shuffled its schedule to accommodate teams that have had players and staff members who have tested positive for the coronavirus.
The league announced Thursday that the Tennessee Titans — who have had the league’s worst outbreak, with nearly two dozen players, coaches and staff members testing positive — would play the Buffalo Bills at 6 p.m. Tuesday instead of Sunday, assuming that the team reports no more positive tests. The Titans reported two additional positive tests in their organization Thursday.
If Tennessee and Buffalo play as now scheduled Tuesday, the Bills’ following game, against the Kansas City Chiefs, would be moved back three days from Oct. 15.
The league had already postponed the Titans’ game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, scheduled for this past Sunday, by three weeks because of the Titans’ outbreak.
The league also Thursday moved the New England Patriots-denver Broncos game, scheduled for Sunday, to 4 p.m. Monday, after Stefon Gilmore, New England’s star cornerback, was reported Wednesday to have tested positive. Last week, the Patriots’ Sunday game was moved to Monday because their quarterback, Cam Newton, had tested positive.
The postponements are part of the NFL’S effort to manage confirmed infections, which it has said for months were expected to occur.
Instead, protocols were put in place to enforce physical distancing and other safety measures while the players and the team’s staff members were together. But at the end of each day, all team personnel are allowed to return home, increasing their chances of being exposed to the virus.
This strategy relies on the avoidance of unnecessary risks by players, coaches and other team employees.
This week, the NFL said it would use video surveillance to ensure that players and coaches were wearing proper protective equipment at team facilities.
The league is also investigating whether the Titans have violated league rules by working out after the club’s facility was shuttered because of the outbreak in the locker room. the season, coach Mike Mccarthy said Thursday.
The NFL Network reported that Smith is gathering medical information on his neck and one of the options being considered is a complete shutdown. No final decision had been made as of Thursday.