Moments after ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news that additional Steelers have tested positive for COVID-19, specific names were reported.
NFL Network’s Aditi Kinwahbala first reported Steelers running back James Conner tested positive. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette confirmed the second person is special teams coach Danny Smith.
James Conner is the #Steelers player who tested positive for #COVID, multiple sources tell me. He is awaiting a second test tomorrow to confirm these results. Contact tracing continues. And as w/ every positive case in the #NFL and country… here’s to recoveries and good health.
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) November 28, 2020
The news comes the day after Pittsburgh placed defensive tackle Stephon Tuitt, defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs and offensive lineman Jerald Hawkins on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. Since Tuitt, Buggs and Hawkins were never reported as positive, it’s presumed they tested negative and were merely in close contact.
With the Steelers-Ravens game still three days out, if this is the end of the positive cases, the game should be on as scheduled on Tuesday. However, contact tracing is a lengthy process, and the result will inevitably mean players in close contact with Conner and Smith are placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
When tight end Vance McDonald tested positive, contact tracing landed quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, running back Jaylen Samuels, offensive lineman Jerald Hawkins and linebacker Vince Williams on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
If anything is working in Pittsburgh’s favor that the virus hasn’t spread, it’s that the team hasn’t practiced since Nov. 25.
