NEWSLETTER
NFL teams trying to operate in a pandemic have to do so while using an abundance of caution because of a potential spread of COVID-19.
And in that vein, the Carolina Panthers made an important decision shortly after their loss to the Bears:
Panthers announce players, coaches and staff were sent home today and Tuesday after an unconfirmed positive test.
Will not impact early voting at BoA Stadium, etc.— Joe Person (@josephperson) October 19, 2020
The Panthers are working remotely for the next two days after an unconfirmed positive test for COVID-19. Being that it’s an unconfirmed positive, I imagine the tests are being re-run to make sure it isn’t a false positive.
News of the positive test comes one day after the Panthers hosted the Bears. Moreover, it comes after a week in which the team followed stricter protocols after playing the Falcons, who had defensive lineman Marlon Davidson test positive for COVID-19 after the teams played. In short, it’s been a a tough time for the Panthers. And when it comes to the Bears, I imagine they’ll be cautious, too, given the possibility of pre-symptomatic exposure yesterday. Especially since they had a practice squad player test positive and had an assistant coach who self-isolated away from the team after coming in contact with someone who tested positive.
The hope is a false positive or an isolated case that can be tracked with the technology teams have equipped players and coaches with this season. Otherwise, I’m going to be a ball of nerves about this for the foreseeable future.
