Titans not in clear, league investigates protocol violations
The NFL’s investigation into how Tennessee turned into the league’s first COVID-19 outbreak found “several specific incidents” of the Titans possibly breaking coronavirus prevention protocols according to a source.
Also, the headmaster of a private school in Nashville confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday that several Titans, including quarterback Ryan Tannehill, practiced on its field Sept. 30. That was a day before the NFL postponed Tennessee’s game with Pittsburgh before rescheduling to Oct. 25.
N FL commissioner Roger Goodell warned all 32 teams Monday that following league protocols is mandatory and that violations forcing changes in the schedule could lead to forfeiting games.
Tennessee had two more players test positive Wednesday, a source said. The Titans placed starting wide receiver Corey Davis on the reserve/COVID-19 list hours later, bringing their total to 22 cases with 20 returned since Sept. 29.
The Titans cannot return to their facility before Saturday at the earliest, needing back-to-back days without a positive test result. They haven’t been on a field since beating the Vikings 31-30 on Sept. 27. The NFL has to decide if they play Buffalo (4- 0) as scheduled Sunday, postpone and reschedule or forfeit.
The Titans were featured with “several specific incidents” during a call Monday with the league’s general managers and coaches, a source said. Another source said photos from the Titans’ cafeteria were shown.
Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, told Judy Battista of the NFL Network the league has looked into everything from video inside the Titans’ facility, interviewing everyone involved and even studied seating charts on buses and planes.
The Patriots canceled practices for Wednesday and today after cornerback Stephon Gilmore became the third player on the team in five days to test positive for the coronavirus.
The NFL gave New England and Kansas City an extra day after Cam Newton tested positive Saturday. But pushing the Bills’ game with the Titans back by a day will be challenging because Buffalo is scheduled to host Kansas City on Oct. 15.
J E T S ’ DA R NOL D OU T, FLACCO IN VS. CARDS >>
New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold will sit out against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday with his sprained right shoulder.
Coach Adam Gase said Wednesday that veteran Joe Flacco will get the start at home in Darnold’s place. Darnold, who was injured last Thursday night against Denver, is week to week.
WASHINGTON SWITCHES TO QB ALLEN VS. RAMS >>
Two days after hinting about Dwayne Haskins’ status being up in the air, Ron Rivera has benched the second-year quarterback and decided to start Kyle Allen for Washington’s next game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Washing ton’s team Twitter feed announced the QB switch Wednesday. On Monday, Rivera said of Haskins: “It’s a tough situation. We’re looking at our circumstances right now as a football team.”
T he circumstances now make Haskins the No. 3 quarterback behind Allen and veteran Alex Smith.