INSIDER
Undefeated Titans getting healthy after COVID-19 outbreak
Read full article: Undefeated Titans getting healthy after COVID-19 outbreakThe undefeated Titans are healing up from the NFL’s first COVID-19 outbreak. DeCastro will miss his third game of the season after sustaining an abdominal injury last week against Philadelphia. Johnson, Pittsburgh’s second-leading receiver, is out because of a back injury suffered on a punt return last week. Cincinnati also will be missing starting defensive tackle D.J. Eagles: RT Lane Johnson, WR DeSean Jackson, WR Alshon Jeffery, CB Avonte Maddox, S Marcus Epps, LB Duke Riley, QB Nate Sudfeld.
Undefeated Bills, Titans set to face off if testing allows
Read full article: Undefeated Bills, Titans set to face off if testing allowsThe NFL's ranks of undefeated teams should thin by one Tuesday night, Oct. 13, 2020, when the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans finally meet in a rescheduled game. (AP Photo/David Berding, File)NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The NFL's ranks of undefeated teams should thin by one Tuesday night when the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans finally meet in a rescheduled game. The NFL first postponed, then rescheduled their Oct. 4 game with Pittsburgh to Oct. 25, and their game with the Bills pushed back two days. “As a team that’s off to a good start, we feel like we’ve got a good thing rolling here and we want to play,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said. The Bills will be the first team to play the Titans since the NFL closed Tennessee's facility Sept. 29.
GM had personal stake in protecting Titans from COVID-19
Read full article: GM had personal stake in protecting Titans from COVID-19NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee general manager Jon Robinson has a very personal stake in keeping the Titans safe during the coronavirus pandemic. Robinson noted that's why the Titans worked hard to follow all protocols to protect everyone connected with the franchise. Still, the Titans wound up with the NFL's first COVID-19 outbreak, with a total of 24 players and personnel testing positive since Sept. 24. “We’ve been extremely transparent with both groups with our situation as they try to piece things together,” Robinson said of the NFL and the NFL Players Association. The NFL allowed Tennessee to practice with only players, coaches and trainers Sunday after the team closed its facility following a staff member testing positive.
Vrabel says Titans hope NFL allows them to return Wednesday
Read full article: Vrabel says Titans hope NFL allows them to return Wednesday“And then we'll kind of see where we're at with the league and hopeful to return and get back in the building,” Vrabel said. The NFL and its players union had people in Nashville meeting with the Titans to review how the team handled the outbreak and checking protocols. The Titans’ outbreak reached 20 cases on Sunday, the team’s sixth straight day of at least one positive, with 18 returned since Sept. 29. “ I’m not even thinking about that.”The Titans' outbreak also affected the Baltimore Ravens, who now will have a bye Week 7 instead of playing Pittsburgh. The NFL and the players union agreed Oct. 2 to continue daily testing, and they both agreed to ramp up health and safety procedures in the wake of the Titans' outbreak.
NFL reschedules Steelers-Titans, Ravens' bye now Week 7
Read full article: NFL reschedules Steelers-Titans, Ravens' bye now Week 7The Titans' outbreak expanded by two more players testing positive Friday, pushing the team's total to 14 within the past week. The outbreak forced the NFL to postpone Tennessee's game from Sunday to Oct. 25 in Week 7, forcing the Steelers into their unplanned bye. Pittsburgh now will play Baltimore on Nov. 1 with the Ravens' bye now pushed to Week 7 instead of Week 8, which had been the bye for both teams. But another positive test result Thursday led to the postponement and Friday's rescheduling. Each new positive test requires the team’s infectious control officer to track down everyone in contact with those people.
Titans back to waiting after NFL postpones game vs. Steelers
Read full article: Titans back to waiting after NFL postpones game vs. SteelersTheir game against the Pittsburgh Steelers is now postponed until later in the season because of the league's first COVID-19 outbreak. The NFL postponed Sunday's game in Nashville after one additional Titans player and one personnel member tested positive for COVID-19. They had one positive test last Saturday with outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen, which prevented him from traveling with Tennessee to Minnesota for a 31-30 win. The NFL decided to postpone the game “to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel." For now both the Titans and Steelers went from game preparation to an unexpected bye and a chance to heal up some players.
Vikings suspend in-person activities ahead of game against Texans after NFL’s first COVID-19 outbreak; Sunday’s game still a go
Read full article: Vikings suspend in-person activities ahead of game against Texans after NFL’s first COVID-19 outbreak; Sunday’s game still a goThe Minnesota Vikings has suspended in-person activities Tuesday following the Titans' test results. The Titans beat the Vikings 31-30 in Minneapolis last weekend. The Vikings released a statement saying they had not received any positive results from their testing after Sunday’s game and they followed NFL protocol by closing their facility immediately. According to Bill O’Brien, the game against the Vikings will remain as scheduled. He told me the game with the #Vikings remains as scheduled .
Abram, Simmons among 2nd-year players poised for breakouts
Read full article: Abram, Simmons among 2nd-year players poised for breakoutsInstead, the rookie safety injured his shoulder in the season opener and didnt play again last season. Now Abram is one of several second-year players poised for a breakout season in 2020. While Abrams season was cut short because of an injury, Tennessee first-round defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons started late because of one. Simmons recovered in time to play nine games of the regular season and three playoff games. He showed flashes as a rookie with 59 catches for 680 yards and five TDs despite substandard quarterback play from Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges.