The National Football League is suddenly feeling the wrath of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The Tennessee Titans have quickly become the NFL’s version of the Miami Marlins, the first Major League Baseball team to get hit hard by a rash of positive COVID-19 test results.
With nearly 20 players and staff members with Tennessee testing positive since they played in Minnesota in Week 3, the Titans’ Week 4 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers has been pushed to Week 7.
By the way, no one on the Vikings has tested positive, which has led the NFL to launch an investigation into whether the Titans violated the league’s COVID-19 protocols.
However, Tennessee isn’t the only team that has been impacted by the virus, it hit the New England Patriots over the weekend when it was confirmed that starting quarterback Cam Newton tested positive.
After everyone else associated with the Pats received negative test results on Saturday and again Sunday, the NFL rescheduled the Kansas City-New England game to Monday night – without Newton, of course.
Sunday’s Detroit-New Orleans tilt was thrown into jeopardy when Saints fullback Michael Burton received a positive test, but he was re-tested and the original result was determined to be a false positive.
NFL officials are now considering adding a Week 18 as part of a contingency plan in the event more COVID-19 positive cases crop up and force games to be rescheduled to later in the season.
Such a move would force the playoffs to start a week later than normal and would either force the cancellation of the traditional off-week before Super Bowl week or in a worst-case scenario, force the NFL title game to be moved to a different date.
As we have come to know with planning anything amid the pandemic, all options are on the table.
Rick Zamperin is the assistant program, news and senior sports director at Global News Radio 900 CHML.
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