Let’s start off by saying we hope everyone affected by COVID-19 in the Tennessee Titans organization is okay after an outbreak led to their game this week against the Pittsburgh Steelers to be postponed.
It’s left fantasy football owners with a lot of questions about what’s next for those who have Steelers and Titans on their teams.
The answer, it seems, is simple: it’s being treated as a bye week for those players. There’s no special “IR” designation (and in leagues where there are “COVID-19” designations, those only apply to players placed on the actual COVID-19 reserve list).
So that means you’ve got to dip into your bench early as you would with any other player on a bye. Here’s word from ESPN:
For those wondering regarding Titans-Steelers players and @ESPNFantasy — it's as simple as treating them like they are on a bye this week.
You'll have to fill-in for Derrick Henry and JuJu Smith-Schuster this Sunday like you would during their normal bye.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 1, 2020
Nothing yet from Yahoo but I would assume it’s the same, given that the Steelers and Titans will play later in the season, and in that scenario, the stats would count for that week.
If you’re not happy with that? I’ve seen some custom solutions thrown out like this, which is a little complicated (does everyone get extra roster room for this week? Just for owners with Steelers and Titans?):
A good #FantasyFootball Commissioner will allow extra roster space for PIT-TEN players this week. No one should have to cut Corey Davis or a DST or whoever because of this. If you haven't already, please ask your commish for some leniency.
— #AskFFT (@daverichard) October 1, 2020
Yes, it’s not great that this happened after waivers on Tuesday, but I’ll say this: we knew this could happen. It’s what we signed up for knowing COVID-19 could affect players and games. That’s fantasy life in 2020.
So if you’ve got Ben Roethlisberger, either put in your backup or go look for a streamer (I like Ryan Fitzpatrick a lot this week!). You probably have an RB available to replace James Conner or Derrick Henry, and the same goes for the receivers.
