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Throughout the season, the NFL feared that teams without post-season possibilities would have problems with COVID-19. The day before Week 17, one of the eliminated teams had a sudden problem.
PFT confirmed that Bengals defensive striker Mike Daniels had a positive test. The first report came from NFL Media.
Bengals are currently engaging in the usual post-positive contact tracking. A source with knowledge of the situation told PFT that Bengals fear that up to 10 players could be considered “close contacts” with Daniels and placed on the COVID-19 reserve list.
Even if 10 players plus Daniels lose Sunday’s game against the Ravens, the game will continue. The NFL has made it clear, both in words and in actions, that games will not be delayed for competitive reasons.
As noted yesterday, it is not clear how many players would have to be unavailable before the league concluded that a team did not have enough players. However, the number of players the league will consider necessary to proceed is likely to be much closer to 11 than the total complement of 69 players available in the squad and training team.