The Cincinnati Bengals fear multiple COVID-19 close contacts after defensive lineman Mike Daniels reportedly tested positive ahead of the team’s Week 17 game against the Baltimore Ravens.
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Cincinnati has an additional player with symptoms and has pushed back Saturday’s scrimmage to perform contact tracing.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk added the following: “A source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that the Bengals fear up to 10 players could be deemed “close contacts” with Daniels and placed on the COVID-19 reserve list.”
Daniels won’t be able to play Sunday in the season finale, and that will presumably apply to any players deemed as close contacts. The NFL has made it clear through actions all season that it won’t delay a game due to competitive reasons, so even a double-digit count being unavailable likely won’t encourage the NFL to change the game’s time.
We’ll update with more once contact tracing concludes and more is known about the game.
