Browns trying to escape COVID-19 issues as Steelers await
CLEVELAND » The Browns are trying to shake free from COVID-19 to face the Steelers.
Cleveland’s issues with the virus continued Thursday as rookie tight end Harrison Bryant and linebacker Malcolm Smith tested positive, forcing the team to close its facility and delay practice for the second straight day with the biggest game in decades coming fast.
The Browns’ latest COVID-19 situation has further impacted preparations for Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh. If they win, the Browns will make the playoffs for the first time since 2002 and end the NFL’s longest current playoff drought.
A league spokesman said at this point the game will be played as scheduled, and that the situation is being closely monitored as standard contact tracing continues.
Bryant and Smith will miss Sunday’s game along with starting linebacker B.J. Goodson and safety Andrew Sendejo, both of whom tested positive.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was awaiting word as to when — or if — his team will be able to practice Thursday. After a long delay, the Browns were able to practice indoors for an hour on Wednesday and Stefanski is confident they’ll be ready for their biggest game in years.
The Browns could get some help as Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is resting several starters, including quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and perhaps Defensive MVP candidate T.J. Watt. Roethlisberger is 23-2-1 in his career against Cleveland.
However, the rival Steelers (12-3), who beat the Browns 38-7 in October and clinched the AFC North last week, won’t hand out any free passes.
“We want to make sure we give Cleveland all they want,” said Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Kevin Butler. “We’re not going to let them walk into the playoffs.”
It’s been a taxing few days for the Browns, who didn’t win a game three years ago but have turned things around under Stefanski.
Last weekend, after a positive test led to players being ruled out because of high-risk close contact with Goodson, the Browns were missing eight rotational players, including star Jarvis Landry and three other wide receivers, and lost 23-16 to the New York Jets.
Landry, Rashard Higgins, Donovan PeoplesJones and KhaDarel Hodge were cleared for practice Thursday and their return will be a huge boost for quarterback Baker Mayfield, who was throwing to players pulled off the practice squad hours before kickoff against the Jets.
The Browns were getting ready to leave for the New York area on Saturday when Goodson’s test came back positive. After the league reviewed video inside the facility, the four receivers were ruled out as close contacts after the group had gathered in the tub recovery area — a lapse in virus guidelines.
DOLPHINS QB RYAN FITZPATRICK TESTS POSITIVE FORCOVID-19 » Miami Dolphins backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick tested positive for COVID-19 and is expected to miss Sunday’s regular-season finale at Buffalo.
Coach Brian Flores shared the news with Fitzpatrick’s teammates during a Zoom meeting Thursday, safety Eric Rowe said. Fitzpatrick’s positive test was first reported by NFL Network.
“It hurts,” Rowe said. “He’s a leader of our team. He brings energy, even in the Zoom meetings. But you’ve got to push forward. I’m just praying for his health.”
Fitzpatrick replaced Tua Tagovailoa last week in the fourth quarter and orchestrated an improbable comeback win at Las Vegas that allowed the Dolphins to retain control of their playoff chances.
“He’s our guy,” receiver Isaiah Ford said. “But if this year has taught us anything, it is to expect the unexpected. We all love Ryan, but we’ve got a job to do.”
Flores earlier designated Tagovailoa as this week’s starter.
NEW YORK MAKES EXCEPTION TO ALLOW FANS AT BILLS PLAYOFF GAME » New York is making an exception to its restrictions on large gatherings to allow about 6,700 fans to attend a Buffalo Bills home playoff game in January as long as all test negative beforehand.
That’s about 10% of the stadium’s capacity. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the football team staff will only allow fans with negative tests to enter the stadium, where they will be seated distanced apart. Fans must wear masks once they leave their vehicles in parking lots until they return to their vehicles, and will be asked to leave if they take off their masks.
Cuomo, who had sent health department staff to study COVID-19 protocols at stadiums in other states, defended his administration’s efforts to allow fans at the game at a time when more then 11,000 New Yorkers a day are testing positive for COVID-19.
He said the pilot program could be a model for re-opening businesses with rapid testing, which his budget director Robert Mujica said will be conducted in the three days before the game. Cuomo is directing his department of health to contact trace all 6,700 fans following the game.
The department didn’t immediately provide specifics on the pilot program, including whether the state has the resources to contact trace all the fans in the days following the game. Fans must follow state guidance that requires individuals who are exposed to COVID-19 to quarantine for 10 days.