#NFL’s Tennessee Titans coronavirus crisis gets even worse

The NFL’s first coronavirus outbreak continued into the weekend, as three more members of the Tennessee Titans, including one unidentified player, tested positive on Saturday, according to multiple reports.

In total, 16 members of the Titans organization — eight players and eight staff members — have tested positive for the virus since Tuesday, when the Titans became the first team to have multiple players and other personnel contract the virus in the 2020 season.

The Titans-Steelers Week 4 matchup initially scheduled for Sunday was pushed back to Oct. 25 in Week 7 after the first cases were reported.

The Titans’ Week 3 opponent, the Minnesota Vikings, has not had any members of its team test positive since the Tennessee outbreak began.

NFL’s chief medical officer Allen Sills in an interview with the Washington Post Friday said he was “cautiously optimistic” the league would be able to complete its season despite the outbreak, but that the Titans’ facility will remain closed until the NFL is “convinced that we’ve reached the end of the transmission event that occurred earlier this week.”

Tennessee (3-0) this week placed starting nose tackle DaQuan Jones, linebacker Kamalei Correa, long-snapper Beau Brinkley, tight end Tommy Hudson (practice squad), receivers Adam Humphries, Cameron Batson (practice squad) and cornerback Kristian Fulton on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, which is dedicated to players who have either contracted the virus or have come in close contact with someone who has tested positive.

Titans coach Mike Vrabel told reporters on Wednesday that some of the players who tested positive were experiencing flu-like symptoms.

The Titans’ next game is scheduled for Oct. 11 against the Buffalo Bills in Nashville.

NFL players and personnel are tested for the virus every day but gameday.