The Vikings Have Thus Far Escaped Covid Exposure from the Titans

Just about every day this week has brought news of new positive Covid-19 tests from Titans players and members of the organization — altogether, there have now been 16 positive tests: eight players, and eight organizational personnel. Their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, previously scheduled for Sunday, has been moved to Week 7.

The Minnesota Vikings, who played the Titans last Sunday, have thus far escaped getting infected with the virus. Therefore, their game against the Houston Texans looks at this point like it’s going to go on as planned:

The Vikings have received zero positive results from Friday’s round of PCR testing for players, coaches and opps staff and are in the clear for all POC tests administered this morning. Team is traveling to Houston this afternoon after a final walk thru.

— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) October 3, 2020

Today and yesterday were reportedly seen as key dates by the NFL and NFLPA in getting to the other side of the virus’s incubation period:

NFL/NFLPA expectation has been that Fri/Sat testing numbers would tell the tale re: Titans, Vikings, given what they know about incubation period. 3 more Titan positives today, but if no one's been in contact w/each other since Monday, IDEALLY this is the end of it, or close.

— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) October 3, 2020

The NFL is going to have an interesting conundrum on its hands if the Patriots and Chiefs, who were supposed to play on Sunday before the news that Cam Newton and a Kansas City practice squad quarterback tested positive, are not able to play on Monday or Tuesday. There’s not as simple a fix as what the league was able to do with the Titans and Steelers, their bye weeks, and a one-step adjustment with the Ravens.

The NFL does have a theoretical week of buffer space in the bye between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. If they rescheduled future canceled games for a Week 18, the Super Bowl could still be played on the same date. Surely they’ve made contingency plans for situations like what’s happening with the Titans and what might happen with the Patriots and Chiefs if there are further positive tests, so we’ll see what they wind up doing.