MORE COVID FALLOUT: GAMES RESCHEDULED
The Bills-Titans game has been moved from Sunday to Tuesday at 4 p.m. PDT as long as Tennessee has no more positive tests for COVID-19 in the interim.
CBS will televise the game.
The NFL also is rescheduling Sunday’s Broncos-Patriots game from Sunday to Monday at 2 p.m. PDT as part of an ESPN doubleheader. New England had a smaller outbreak of COVID-19.
The Chiefs at Bills game scheduled for Oct. 15 is moving to next weekend if the Buffalo-Tennessee game actually is played on Tuesday. No specific day or time has been determined.
“These scheduling decisions were made to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel and in consultation with medical experts,” the NFL said in a statement Thursday night.
Three games now have been postponed due to the pandemic: Pittsburgh at Tennessee in Week 3 was moved to Oct. 25.
The Titans’ outbreak increased to 23 Thursday with tight end MyCole Pruitt and a defensive back from the practice squad put on the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday afternoon. The Titans’ facility remains closed and they are still prohibited from any in-person activities.
Tennessee (3-0) has had 21 positive tests returned since Sept. 29, though now 13 players are on the reserve/ COVID-19 list, including four starters and a long snapper.
The investigation by the NFL and the players’ association into how Tennessee turned into the league’s first COVID-19 outbreak found “several specific incidents” of the Titans possibly breaking protocols dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, a person with knowledge of the inquiry told The Associated Press.
Also, Tennessee was told players could not gather together for any in-person activities either at the club’s facility or elsewhere a day before several Titans worked out at a private school, a person familiar with the situation told the AP on Thursday.
Giants’ Tate talks, sort of
Giants receiver Golden Tate bobbed and weaved in discussing his post-game fight with Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey last weekend, saying he wants to focus on helping the team finally get a win.
Speaking to the media for the first time since squaring off with Ramsey on the field after the Rams’ win Sunday, Tate refused to discuss the incident in detail. He insisted he has put it behind him.
Both players face possible fines or suspension from the NFL. Their teams have indicated neither will face any disciplinary action from them.
“I don’t want to backpedal and discuss that because I don’t think, you know, going back to that is going to help us this week,” Tate said.
Ramsey has not spoken about the incident.
Notable
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was not seen by the media at practice for the second consecutive day. Jackson did not practice Wednesday because of a knee injury, according to the team’s injury report.
• The Chiefs began the season eagerly awaiting the return of Bashaud Breeland, the veteran cornerback so instrumental in slowing down the 49ers and helping Kansas City win its first Super Bowl in 50 years in February. Now that Breeland served his four-game suspension, though, there is no guarantee he will even start after others have stepped up.
• The Falcons activated cornerback A.J. Terrell to their active roster from the reserve/COVID-19 list. Terrell, the team’s first-round pick from Clemson in this year’s NFL Draft, has missed the past two games after opening the season as a starter.