Sunday’s Titans-Steelers game has been postponed as a result of the multiple positive COVID-19 cases affecting the Titans, a league source tells PFT.
The Titans have shut their facility down for the week because of the positive tests, which yesterday included three players and five staff members, and today included a fourth player.
It is unclear when the game will be played. It reportedly will be postponed only a day or two until Monday or Tuesday night, but if more players test positive it could be postponed to later in the season, which would necessitate the juggling of bye weeks.
The Vikings’ game against the Texans is currently still on, as the Vikings have had no positive tests after playing against the Titans.
This is the first time the NFL season has been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The league had been testing players daily and maintaining strict health and safety protocols, but those protocols weren’t perfect, and the outbreak within the Titans’ facility should serve as a reminder to the other 31 teams of how vigilant they need to be.
UPDATE 11:30 a.m. ET: The NFL released the following statement: “The Steelers-Titans game, originally scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, will be rescheduled to allow additional time for further daily COVID-19 testing and to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel. Details on the new game date and time on either Monday or Tuesday will be announced as soon as possible.”