Tuesday's NFL: Titans have NFL’s first COVID-19 outbreak; next game still on
Nashville, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans won’t be back inside their building until Saturday at the earliest because of eight positive tests for the coronavirus, the first outbreak to hit the NFL as it tries to play a full schedule amid the pandemic.
Tennessee is scheduled to host Pittsburgh in a matchup of two of the league’s seven remaining undefeated teams on Sunday, and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said his team has been “given a mandate” to prepare as if the game will be played on time – even if the Titans are unable to practice.
“We’re going to trust the medical experts,” Tomlin said. “If they deem it safe for us to proceed, we’re going to go down there with the intention of playing and playing to win.”
Tennessee suspended in-person activities through Friday after the NFL said three Titans players and five personnel tested positive for the coronavirus. The NFL had played three weeks without a COVID-19 outbreak. Now, the Titans will become the first significant in-season test of the league’s virus protocols.
The Minnesota Vikings also suspended in-person activities Tuesday following the Titans’ test results. The Titans beat the Vikings 31-30 in Minneapolis last weekend.
“Both clubs are working closely with the NFL and the NFLPA, including our infectious disease experts, to evaluate close contacts, perform additional testing and monitor developments,” the league said in a statement.
The Titans placed a pair of key players, defensive captain and lineman DaQuan Jones and long snapper Beau Brinkley, on the reserve/COVID-19 list later Tuesday.
The Vikings released a statement saying they had not received any positive results from their testing after Sunday’s game and they followed NFL protocol by closing their facility immediately. The Minnesota complex will remain closed at least through Wednesday.
Minnesota is scheduled to visit Houston (0-3) on Sunday.
“All decisions will be made with health and safety as our primary consideration,” the NFL said. “We will continue to share updates as more information becomes available.”
If they kick off Sunday, the Titans will have spent three days in virtual, video meetings with possibly only a walk-through Saturday. The prospect of a team facing a competitive disadvantage because of the virus was not a surprise to Tomlin.
“Once we left the station and we got all teams into a training camp-like setting, we as a collective, meaning the National Football League, acknowledged that this COVID environment could be challenging to that,” Tomlin said. “So we all proceeded with that understanding.”
Titans coach Mike Vrabel is scheduled to talk to reporters Wednesday morning.
“I just wanna play,” Titans starting left guard Rodger Saffold tweeted.
Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to teams Tuesday noting the protocols set up by the league and the NFLPA are being followed. Those who tested positive will be isolated, monitored and offered medical care, and family members also are offered testing. Officials and others who worked the game will be tested.
“This is not unexpected; as Dr. Sills and others have emphasized, there will be players and staff who will test positive during the season,” Goodell wrote in the memo obtained by The Associated Press, referencing the NFL’s chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills. “We are exploring in more detail the nature of the close contacts to determine where they occurred (locker room, flights, etc.), and identify any additional learnings that can be shared with all clubs.”
Goodell asked teams to look at what they’ve done to limit contact, especially when traveling and within position groups, and to review how they bring in players for tryouts. He noted the test results affirm the need to follow health and safety protocols “to the fullest extent.”
The NFL has been fining coaches and teams when coaches have violated league rules requiring face coverings during games.
Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward posted on Twitter that if the game were postponed, players would be compromised in their preparation for the following week.
“This is wild but this is the world we live in now,” Heyward wrote.
The Titans beat the Vikings in Minneapolis without outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen, who did not travel with the team following a virus test result Saturday. Vrabel said Monday that Bowen was not with the team.
Rookie offensive lineman Isaiah Wilson, the Titans’ top draft pick out of Georgia, also has been on the reserve/COVID-19 list since Sept. 6.
The Titans, like other NFL teams, use devices that detect whenever someone is within 6 feet of another device and records how long they are that close together. That means the league has data on everyone’s interactions from inside the team headquarters to the practice field, an airplane, inside a hotel and at a stadium.
That information should help the Titans and the infectious disease experts know which players and coaches were at risk. The closure of Tennessee’s facility should also help limit further spread of the virus.
The Titans are due to have about 7,000 fans in Nissan Stadium on Sunday as local restrictions on large gatherings have been eased. That number is set to expand to about 8,500 on Oct. 11 for a game against Buffalo and up to 10,000 on Oct. 18, when Houston is scheduled to visit.
Charity mishap
Several Raiders players attended a charity event held by teammate Darren Waller that might have violated league rules for the coronavirus pandemic.
The Darren Waller Foundation held a fundraising event at a country club just outside Las Vegas on Monday to help young people overcome drug and alcohol addiction.
Players were seen on video without masks during the indoor event while talking and mingling with guests, who also weren’t wearing masks.
Among the players in attendance were quarterbacks Derek Carr and Nathan Peterman, tight ends Jason Witten and Foster Moreau, and Waller.
Rules from the NFL and NFLPA limit what players are allowed to do away from the facility this season to try to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Among the banned activities are music concerts or entertainment events, house gatherings of more than 15 people without everyone wearing masks or attending an indoor night club with more than 10 people in the club.
Kearse retires
Former Seattle Seahawks and New York Jets wide receiver Jermaine Kearse has announced his retirement.
Kearse, who posted his decision on social media, has not played in a regular season game since 2018 when he was with the Jets. Kearse suffered a broken leg during the 2019 preseason with Detroit.
While he spent two seasons with the Jets, Kearse is best known for his time in Seattle. Kearse, who grew up about an hour south of Seattle and went to college at Washington, became a major contributor during his five seasons with the Seahawks. His best season with the Seahawks came in 2015 when he had 49 catches for 685 yards and five touchdowns. He caught a career-high 65 passes in 2017 with the Jets.
But Kearse is best known for his moments in the postseason. His fourth-quarter touchdown catch in the 2013 NFC championship game provided the winning points in Seattle’s 23-17 victory over San Francisco. Kearse added another TD reception in Seattle’s Super Bowl win over Denver two weeks later.
In 2014, Kearse caught the game-winning touchdown in overtime to beat Green Bay in the NFC title game and had one of the greatest catches in Super Bowl history late in the fourth quarter against New England.
For his career, Kearse played in 99 regular season games, had 255 catches and 17 touchdowns.
Extra points
Former Titans All-Pro defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth was arrested Monday after he was accused of threatening and yelling at his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend.
Cleveland, Tennessee, police officers responded at 4:34 p.m. to a report that Haynesworth was yelling at his ex-girlfriend, according to a statement from the police. The woman told officers Haynesworth had driven there from his home in Franklin, Tennessee, about 160 miles away, after making threats to physically harm her and her boyfriend. No physical assault was reported, according to the police statement.
A spokesman for the sheriff’s office said Tuesday that Haynesworth had been released on $1,500 bond.
... Brett Rypien was named the starting quarterback for the Broncos’ game against the N.Y. Jets on Thursday night in a matchup of reeling 0-3 teams.
...The Falcons placed cornerback Darqueze Dennard (Michigan State) on the reserve/injured list with a hamstring injury.
...The L.A. Chargers placed cornerback Chris Harris Jr. on injured reserve with a foot injury.