Patrick Smith/Getty Images Head coach Mike Tomlin and other Pittsburgh Steelers coaches look on from the sideline against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on November 01, 2020.
On Tuesday afternoon the Baltimore Ravens—or at least a good portion of the team—departed for Pittsburgh for its re-re-rescheduled game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Prior to the team leaving for the Steel City, Mark Maske of the Washington Post reported that the Ravens “had no positive test results among players,” a good indication that the game—slated for 3:40 p.m. ET on Wednesday—would be played as planned.
But then other reporters weighed in, with Mike Garofolo of NFL Network offering the news that the Ravens “learned of two more COVID-19 positives before they left for Pittsburgh”—one player and one staffer. “The NFL told the team these individuals were previously identified as potential positives and there was no concern for further spread,” added Garolofo.
Next, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic added his two cents, saying that Ravens players “were told of two new positives while on plane.”
It also appears that said player “practiced” with the team the past two days—that is, participated in Baltimore’s “socially distanced” walk throughs (as Zrebiec put it).
Zrebiec and Garofolo also attempted to clarify all of these developments by adding …
… with Maske also circling back around to say that the “NFL is hopeful the game will proceed … pending further test results.”
At this point, it’s getting difficult to keep up with all of the news surrounding Baltimore’s test results, but it appears that by having another player (reportedly safety Geno Stone) and staffer test positive on Tuesday, the Ravens have now had ten consecutive days with at least one positive test. That doesn’t sound like an outbreak that is under control.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Baltimore had 16 players on its Reserve/COVID-19 list, including starting quarterback Lamar Jackson and running backs J.K. Robbins and Mark Ingram, though the latter two are expected to be eligible—and play—if the game happens on Wednesday.
The Ravens also indicated that they would be without two assistant coaches for the Steelers game:
Injury report announcements ahead of tomorrow’s game vs. Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Steelers COVID-19 Update
Meanwhile, things are comparatively calm in Steelers territory.
Pittsburgh has a mere three players on its Reserve/COVID-19 list: most notably No. 1 running back James Conner (who has reportedly tested positive for the virus), as well as starting defensive end Stephon Tuitt.
Moreover, on Tuesday the team’s director of communications indicated that quarterbacks coach Matt Canada will be eligible for the Ravens game, thereby returning one of two sidelined assistant coaches.
NBC’s Cris Collingsworth Checks In
As for the NBC broadcast crew, well, Cris Collingsworth has apparently been marooned in a Pittsburgh hotel room for five days and counting, waiting patiently to find out whether a Wednesday game is going to unfold.
Welcome to Day 5 of the Ravens-Steelers Game.
If it does happen, it will apparently be the 39th Wednesday game in NFL history (from Steelers.com, via @NFLResearch) with the NFL’s Pittsburgh franchise participating in 10 of those games. The last time Pittsburgh played on a Wednesday was in 1936, when they were the Pirates.
But there will be no fans at Heinz Field on Wednesday, per a new order by Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf that went into effect on November 27.
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