NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee will not be returning to the team’s facility Wednesday after two more players tested positive amid the NFL’s first COVID-19 outbreak, and the New England Patriots have canceled practice amid reports that a third player has tested positive for the coronavirus.
Sports Illustrated reported that reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore tested positive for the virus on Wednesday and was added to the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list. The Patriots did not give a reason for Wednesday’s cancellation and did not immediately respond when asked if it was related to a third positive test.
Quarterback Cam Newton tested positive Saturday and is on the reserve/COVID-19 list, and the Patriots placed a defensive tackle from the practice squad on that list Tuesday. The Patriots are scheduled to host Denver on Sunday.
“WEAR YOUR MASK. KEEP YOUR DISTANCE,” Newton posted on Twitter Wednesday along with a photo of himself wearing a mask.
The Titans had no positive tests Monday or Tuesday for the first time after six consecutive days of positive results. A third straight day was necessary for the team to be allowed back in its headquarters, stopping its planned return, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Instead, the Titans’ outbreak now is up to 22 cases with 20 now returned since Sept. 29, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because neither the NFL nor the Titans announced the latest results.
The new positive tests put into question Tennessee’s scheduled game Sunday against Buffalo (4-0), a matchup between two of the NFL’s six remaining undefeated teams. The NFL has rescheduled the Titans’ game with Pittsburgh from Oct. 4 to Oct. 25.
The NFL gave New England and Kansas City an extra day after Newton tested positive Saturday, and the Chiefs beat the Patriots 26-10 on Monday night. But pushing the Bills’ game with the Titans back by a day will be challenging because Buffalo is scheduled to host Kansas City on Thursday night, Oct. 15.
The league is attempting to play a full schedule amid the pandemic without teams isolated in a bubble as other sports have done to protect players and staff from the virus. No games were affected through the first three weeks of the season.
Pittsburgh defensive tackle Cam Heyward said Wednesday it was “ludicrous” to think the NFL wouldn’t have positive tests and warned there would be more. He said players and teams were under pressure to minimize outbreaks.
“Things are going to change every minute now,” said Heyward, the Steelers’ player representative. “And we’ve just got to be willing to adjust. I know the NFL and the NFLPA is trying to do right by the players and the coaches, but there’s only so much they can do.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell warned all 32 teams Monday that any violations of COVID-19 protocols that force schedule changes could result in punishment including forfeiting games, fines or loss of draft picks.
Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said he’s allowing his wife and three children to attend the Steelers’ game Sunday against Philadelphia. The Steelers had an unexpected bye last weekend with the Titans’ outbreak affecting their schedule.
“I don’t think they’ll consider forfeiting our game, and of course we got the short end of the stick,” Roethlisberger said.
Titans coach Mike Vrabel told reporters Tuesday he was hoping to hear more good news Wednesday morning when the latest batch of daily testing results came back. Instead, he’ll have to try to prepare a game plan with his team possibly not back into its facility until Saturday because it needs back-to-back days of negative tests.
Tennessee hasn’t been together as a team since Sept. 27, when the Titans beat the Vikings 31-30 in Minnesota. The Titans played that game after leaving outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen in Nashville following his positive test result Sept. 26, and the NFL shut down the team facility on Sept. 29.
The franchise has continued daily testing since then, and the league sent all 32 teams a memo Oct. 1 with list of new protocols for clubs to follow when dealing with a coronavirus outbreak or having been exposed to an outbreak.
The Las Vegas Raiders put their first player on the reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday — defensive tackle Maurice Hurst. He didn’t attend the charity function last week that led the NFL to fine 10 Raiders players for conduct violating COVID-19 protocols. The list is for players who either test positive for the coronavirus or have had close contact with an infected person.
AP Sports Writers Kyle Hightower and Will Graves contributed to this report.
Follow Teresa M. Walker at https://twitter.com/TeresaMWalker
More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.