49ers believe player has the coronavirus
Several teammates who are at offseason workouts in Nashville await test results
A 49ers player who was working out with a large group of teammates this week in Nashville has tested positive for the coronavirus, the NFL Network reported Friday.
The rest of the players were tested Friday morning and are awaiting results. There have reportedly been at least 15 skillposition players taking part in practices in Nashville this week. Several of them, including tight end George Kittle, quarterback C.J. Beathard and wide receiver Trent Taylor, spend the offseason in the area. The players who traveled to Tennessee are remaining in the state until they receive their test results.
The 49ers, in a statement, said they would not identify the player who tested positive, citing federal and state privacy laws.
The group of players in Nashville included all four quarterbacks: Beathard, Jimmy Garoppolo, Nick Mullens and rookie Broc Rutter. On Tuesday, wide receiver Deebo Samuel required medical attention when he suffered a broken foot
during a workout. Samuel underwent surgery Thursday.
The positive test by a 49ers player is the first to surface among Bay Area pro sports teams and the latest of many in the NFL. That group includes Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, Broncos pass rusher Von Miller, Broncos safety Kareem Jackson, Rams center Brian Allen and Saints head coach Sean Payton. The group includes one unidentified Buccaneers assistant coach and at least one member of the Chargers organization. On Monday, several members of the Cowboys and Texans tested positive.
The positive tests during an offseason in which the NFL has canceled team activities because of the pandemic could foreshadow more issues that will arise when teams report for training camps, which are scheduled to begin in late July.
This week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key member of the White House’s coronavirus task force, expressed doubts about the NFL’s ability to play this season. Fauci told CNN he thinks the NFL might need to follow the path of the NBA, which is planning to relocate the entire league to Orlando and finish the season in a nearquarantine environment.
“Unless players are essentially in a bubble — insulated from the community and they are tested nearly every day — it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall,” Fauci said. “If there is a second wave, which is certainly a possibility and which would be complicated by the predictable flu season, football may not happen this year.”
Several college football teams who recently returned to campus for voluntary workouts have had coronavirus outbreaks, with reports emerging of 23 players testing positive at Clemson, 13 at Texas and eight at Kansas. Last week, Houston suspended its workouts after six players tested positive.
There have also been a wave of positive tests in professional leagues where players have recently reconvened. On Friday, the Phillies and Blue Jays shut down their Florida springtraining facilities. Philadelphia has five players and three staff members who tested positive and Toronto has a player who exhibited coronavirus symptoms. Meanwhile, the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning shut down its team facility Friday because several players and staff members tested positive.
In early May, 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman, in a conversation on Twitter, said he was “pretty sure” he had the coronavirus “a while ago.” On April 20, speaking to reporters before the NFL draft, 49ers general manager John Lynch was asked if anyone in the organization had contracted the coronavirus.
“Legally I’m not at liberty to share certain things with people — that’s up to certain people,” Lynch said. “I’m just going to leave it at that. But I’m really proud with the way our team and organization has responded to all these challenges.”
The other 49ers who reportedly were working out in Nashville this week are wide receivers Kendrick Bourne, Dante Pettis, Jalen Hurd, Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings and Shawn Poindexter, fullback Kyle Juszczyk and tight end Charlie Woerner.
The positive test was part of a forgettable week for the 49ers. On Friday, a day after Samuel’s surgery, the team confirmed wide receiver Richie James Jr., who has been training in Florida, suffered a broken right wrist during a workout.
The 49ers did not provide a timetable for James’ return, but the NFL Network reported he was expected to be sidelined for at least two months. Last year, James was the 49ers’ primary punt returner and averaged 8 yards on punt returns and 21.4 yards on kickoff returns. He also caught six passes for 165 yards and a touchdown.
James, a 2018 seventhround pick, is expected to battle to retain his spot on the 53man roster.