All season long, the NFL has feared that teams without postseason possibilities will have COVID-19 issues. The day before Week 17, one of the eliminated teams has a sudden issue.
PFT has confirmed that Bengals defensive lineman Mike Daniels has tested positive. The first report came from NFL Media.
The Bengals currently are engaging in the usual post-positive contact tracing. A source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that the Bengals fear up to 10 players could be deemed “close contacts” with Daniels and placed on the COVID-19 reserve list.
Even if 10 players plus Daniels miss Sunday’s game against the Ravens, the game will proceed. The NFL has made it clear, both by words and by actions, that games won’t be delayed for competitive reasons.
As noted yesterday, it’s unclear how many players would have to be unavailable before the league would conclude that a team doesn’t have enough players. However, the number of players the league will deem necessary to proceed is likely far closer to 11 than the full complement of 69 available players on the roster and practice squad.