Coronavirus begins to impact the NFL
October 6, 2020
Despite many games being played with no in-person attendance, the NFL had avoided any mass outbreaks with the coronavirus for the two weeks of the season.
That changed recently, however, with eight total positive cases emerging within the Tennessee Titans team camp. Three players and five members of the team staff tested positive for the virus in the aftermath of their game against the Minnesota Vikings on September 27. This comes right after the very first positive Covid-19 test from Falcons rookie A. J. Terrell.
Oddly enough, this outbreak did not come from within the Falcons or Bears (who played a game against the Falcons recently) team facilities, but elsewhere in the league. This shows how on their toes the NFL has to be when dealing with this virus because outbreaks can and will happen anywhere.
A few days after the initial outbreak two more positive tests within the Titans organization were recorded. The NFL first shut down both Tennessee and Minnesota’s team facilities until October 3, but after two more cases for the Titans, the NFL has officially postponed the Titans vs Steelers game that was originally supposed to be played Sunday October 4, but will now be moved to later in the season.
Many are skeptical of the NFL as one of the leagues being against a bubble, which have shown effectiveness for the NBA, MLS and NWSL. A good thing for the NFL, the Titans outbreak did not spread to the Vikings, which shows that some of the game day protocols are working.
More positive tests have emerged for different teams in the days following the initial Titans outbreak, this is now crunch time for the NFL. I’m 100% sure more positive tests will come in the future, and I’ll cover those as I did these as the season unfolds. It will interesting to see how the league and the teams handle their everyday activities now.
