The Jets confirmed on Friday that one of their players had tested positive for the coronavirus and that all players had been sent home by the team’s facility as a precaution.
The positive result raises the question of whether the Jets can play their next game at home against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday and is the newest problem for the N.F.L. I’ve already tried to prepare for breakouts on two other teams.
The jets are the newest N.F.L. The team must pass a positive player test to deepen the challenge for the league trying to create a full game plan. On Thursday the league was forced postpone two more games, the latest in a series of cascading adjustments to the intricate matrix of a post virus outbreak timeline involving the Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots.
The league announced that the Titans – who had the league’s worst outbreak with nearly two dozen players, coaches, and staff testing positive – would play the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Eastern time instead of Sunday. But even that plan was contingent on the team not reporting any new positive results. The Titans reported two more positive tests in their organization on Thursday.
If Tennessee and Buffalo play on Tuesday, the Bills’ next game against the Kansas City Chiefs will be postponed for three days from Thursday, October 15.
The league had already postponed the Titans’ game against the Pittsburgh Steelers planned for this past Sunday for three weeks due to the Titan’s outbreak.
The league also postponed the Patriots-Denver Broncos game scheduled for Sunday to 5 p.m. on Thursday. East on monday, after Stefon Gilmore, New England star cornerback, reportedly tested positive.
Last week, the Patriots’ Sunday game was postponed to Monday because the team’s quarterback, Cam Newton, tested positive.
At the same time, the league is trying to tighten control over the teams and threatens to penalize organizations that fail to abide by protocols. The N.F.L. said it would use video surveillance to ensure players and coaches in the team’s facilities were wearing appropriate protective gear and an investigation is being carried out to determine if the Titans violated league rules by exercising in the locker room after the club facility closed due to the outbreak.
If the team is found to be breaking the law, they face penalties, including fines and the loss of draft picks. Tennessee might even be forced to lose a game.
In contrast to the N.B.A. is the W.N.B.A. and several other leagues that N.F.L. – which had a much larger squad and coaching staff than most leagues – chose not to continue its season in a restricted environment like the so-called bubbles used in basketball.
Instead, protocols were put in place to enforce physical distancing and other safety measures while the players and team members were together. However, at the end of each day, all members of the team are allowed to return home, increasing the chances of being exposed to the virus.
