NFL schedule scramble: Broncos-Patriots moved to Monday, Bills-Titans to Tuesday
The Bills-Titans game has been moved from Sunday to Tuesday at 1 p.m. Hawaii time 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 11 a.m. HST 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.
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. The Titans’ facility remains closed with the team still prohibited from any inperson 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 on Wednesday.
Titans coach Mike Vrabel has talked with reporters only once this week, and he said Tuesday that he stood by the franchise following league protocols.
The Patriots missed a second straight day of practice Thursday after reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore joined quarterback Cam Newton on the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday. The team also has a defensive tackle from the practice squad on the list.
New England coach Bill Belichick said Thursday the team closed its facility for the health and safety of the club. Whether the Patriots return to their facility today will be a medical decision rather than a football one, Belichick said.