AND THE WAIT GOES ON
Titans back to standing by after NFL postpones game vs. Steelers
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans find themselves back in a waiting mode, hoping the NFL allows them back inside their headquarters by Tuesday.
Their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers is now postponed until later in the season because of the league’s first COVID-19 outbreak.
The NFL postponed Sunday’s game in Nashville after one additional Titans player and one personnel member tested positive for COVID-19. The announcement Thursday morning came a day after the league said it hoped to play the game either Monday or Tuesday. The NFL said a new game date will be announced “shortly.”
Coach Mike Vrabel informed his Titans of the newest positive tests and the NFL’s decision to postpone the game at a team meeting Thursday morning. That puts Tennessee — and Pittsburgh — on a bye week several weeks ahead of schedule.
Vrabel said they hope to be allowed back inside their building Monday or Tuesday.
When the Titans are allowed back inside their facility depends on the daily testing results. They had one positive test last Saturday with outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen, which prevented him from traveling with Tennessee to Minnesota for a 31-30 win. The Vikings returned to work at their facility Thursday.
The Titans are scheduled to host Buffalo (3-0) on Oct. 11 depending on the results of daily testing.
On Tuesday, the Titans (3-0) placed three players on the reserve/COVID-19 list, including defensive captain and lineman DaQuan Jones and long snapper Beau Brinkley. Outside linebacker Kamalei Correa became the fourth on that list Wednesday, and rookie cornerback Kristian Fulton became the fifth Thursday.
With the two new cases, the Titans’ total is now 12: five players and seven other organization members since last Saturday. Vrabel said he’s very confident the Titans have followed the contact tracing protocol to identify anyone at risk from being close together.
The NFL decided to postpone the game “to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel.” The league also said the Titans cannot have any in-person activities until further notice with the facility remaining closed.
The league also sent a memo Thursday detailing new steps for teams dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak or exposed to a team, such as Minnesota. Those include a POC test in addition to the daily PCR test, virtual meetings and facemasks and gloves for everyone at practice until cleared to return to less stringent protocols.