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The NFL has feared all season long that teams without after-season opportunities will have COVID-19 problems. The day before week 17, one of the eliminated teams had a sudden problem.
PFT confirmed that Mike Daniels, the Bengal line of defense, tested positive. The first report comes from NFL Media.
The Bengals are currently engaged in the usual post-positive contact detection. A source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that the Bengals fear that up to ten players could be considered as ‘close contact’ with Daniels and placed on the COVID-19 reserve list.
Even if ten players plus Daniels miss Sunday’s game against the Ravens, the game will continue. The NFL has made it clear, both through words and through actions, that games will not be delayed for competitive reasons.
As noted yesterday, it is unclear how many players will not have to be available before the league concludes that a team does not have enough players. The number of players the league needs to continue is likely to be much closer to 11 than the total number of 69 available players in the team and training group.