A false positive caused the Falcons to miss work on Thursday. They’re back to work on Friday.
The team has announced that the players and coaches will return to the facility a day after a precautionary shutdown that could have been ended on Thursday afternoon, but the Falcons decided not to do so. (Really, what difference would that have made for the 0-5 team, at this point?)
So all is well after a false alarm, and the Falcons remain set to play on Sunday in Minnesota. As for every other team, however, everything is subject to change, at any given moment or more specifically in response to any given set of test results.
Sunday’s game will be the first with Raheem Morris serving as interim head coach. For the 1-4 Vikings, the pre-bye contest becomes the ultimate litmus test on whether they’re unofficially done after only six weeks of the season.