The Chicago Bears and Tennessee Titans are set to wrap up the preseason on Saturday night in Nashville. In theory.
But before that game kicks off, Tennessee has to deal with a different battle on its hands:
Tennessee Titans now have nine players and coaches who have tested positive, including QB Ryan Tannehill and HC Mike Vrabel, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 26, 2021
Earlier, it was the Titans placing quarterback Ryan Tannehill on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. But news that Tennessee now has nine players and coaches — including Head Coach Mike Vrabel — testing positive for coronavirus further complicates matters.
Under the league’s 2020 protocols, the NFL would have had the facility shut down — as was the case last year. And if you’ll recall, the Titans are far too familiar with the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols. The team’s outbreak last fall led to the NFL’s first COVID-related postponement. And it’s not as if things immediately got better after that point, as the team was approaching 20 total cases last October and reportedly had players gathering for workouts even after the building was shut down during the outbreak. It all added up to the NFL fining the Titans $350,000 for violating protocols. Not exactly what you’d want considering how seriously the league is taking the handling of this pandemic.
I don’t think the NFL would step in to cancel a preseason game. And I doubt either team wants that to happen, so long as the game can be played safely. But it is in the realm of possibilities. Remember, there are consequences for outbreaks that cause game cancellations. So that is worth keeping in mind in case the NFL wants to make an example of the situation.