Chiefs Activate CB Bashaud Breeland
Bashaud Breeland should make his 2020 debut this weekend. The Chiefs have officially activated the cornerback off the reserve/suspended list. To make room on the roster, Kansas City placed rookie defensive end Mike Danna on injured reserve.
Breeland joined the Chiefs prior to last season, and he proceeded to appear in all 16 games (15 starts), compiling 48 tackles, eight passes defended, and two interceptions. The defensive back also started each of Kansas City’s three playoff games, including their Super Bowl win where he finished with an interception and a team-high seven tackles.
The 28-year-old inked a one-year, $3MM deal to stick with the Chiefs this offseason, but he was later suspended for the first four games of the 2020 campaign after violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Breeland should play an immediate role for Kansas City, although the young secondary hasn’t really struggled without him. The Chiefs rank third in the NFL in interceptions, and they’ve got contributions from the likes of Rashad Fenton and fourth-round rookie L’Jarius Sneed.
Danna, a fifth-round rookie out of Michigan, has appeared in all four games for Kansas City, and he played at least 43-percent of the team’s defensive snaps through the first three weeks of the season. Danna suffered a hamstring injury during the Chiefs’ win over the Patriots on Monday, forcing the rookie to miss at least the next three weeks.
Bears PS Player, Chiefs Coach Test Positive For COVID-19
An unidentified Bears practice squad player has tested positive for COVID-19, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). Fortunately, Chicago does have some time on their side. After beating the Buccaneers on Thursday night, the Bears won’t play again until next Sunday at Carolina. Schefter notes that the team facilities have been closed since Thursday night.
Mark Maske of The Washington Post tweets that while contact tracing is ongoing throughout the Bears organization, there are “no further issues expected at this point in terms of effect on games.”
More notes below:
- In the same tweet, Schefter adds that a Chiefs strength and conditioning coach has tested positive. Kansas City hosted the Patriots on Monday night, and we later learned that New England cornerback Stephon Gilmore had tested positive for COVID-19. Fortunately, tests for Chiefs players have reportedly come back negative all week.
- We learned last night that the “presumptive positive” test result for a Jets player was proven to be a false positive. Mike Garafolo of NFL Network tweets that the organization was confident that “protocols have been followed.” Similarly, SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano tweets that the team did another full round of PCR testing among some players and staff “just to be safe.”
- The Patriots (along with the Titans) returned to their practice facility today, but New England was still without two key players. Neither Cam Newton nor Gilmore were on the practice field this morning, according to Schefter (via Twitter). As Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com detailed this morning, there’s a path to both Newton and Gilmore playing Monday against the Broncos, although it’s unlikely that at least the cornerback misses the contest. Both players are currently sitting on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
No New Positive Tests For Titans, Patriots
Yesterday’s round of COVID-19 testing yielded no new positive results for either the Patriots or Titans, according to multiple sources, including Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). As such, the Broncos-Patriots contest, which has been moved to Monday night, is on track to be played, as is the Bills-Titans matchup, currently scheduled for Tuesday night.
Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reports that contact tracing identified multiple Patriots players as close/high-risk contacts with CB Stephon Gilmore, who tested positive for the coronavirus, and there are multiple Titans players who are close/high-risk contacts with their COVID-infected teammates (Twitter link). That is not at all surprising, of course, but it stands to reason that there may be more positive tests on both clubs in the coming days. That does not mean, however, that their games would necessarily be nixed.
Pelissero goes into more detail on that point in an interview on the NFL Network this morning (video link). He adds that while the Patriots’ and Titans’ facilities remain closed today, both clubs could be back on the practice field tomorrow if all goes well.
As the NFL already postponed Tennessee’s Week 4 game, it obviously does not want to postpone another one and deal with all of the logistical and competitiveness questions that such a decision would create. Presumably, that’s why additional positive tests would not necessarily impact the club’s Tuesday night affair with Buffalo.
There is also good news for the Chiefs in all of this. Although they tangled with Gilmore and the Pats on Monday night, Pelissero says all of KC’s tests have come back negative this week.
NFL To Shift Bills-Titans Game To Tuesday
Minutes after the Broncos-Patriots game was moved to Monday, news about the Titans’ Week 5 contest emerged. Their home game against the Bills is being moved from Sunday to Tuesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
However, this game taking place is contingent on future Titans coronavirus tests. The game will be played at 6pm CT Tuesday, so long as no more Titans positive tests occur, Schefter adds.
This change also affects the Chiefs. Their Week 6 game with the Bills — previously scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 15 — will be played Sunday, Oct. 18, Schefter reports. However, if the Bills-Titans game ends up being moved to a different week, the Chiefs-Bills contest will be shifted back to its original date.
Only one NFL game has been played on a Tuesday since the 1940s. The Vikings and Eagles played a Tuesday-night game in 2010, after the Metrodome roof collapse. Rumblings of the Patriots-Chiefs Week 4 game being moved to Tuesday emerged, but the NFL decided to move that game back one day. Given the Titans’ far more prevalent issues with COVID-19, their new game time must be considered tentative.
The Titans have seen 23 players and staff members test positive for COVID-19, and their protocol-breaking offsite workouts are now the subject of an NFL investigation. They have continued to see positive tests emerge, and that trend continued through Thursday. The team placed two more players on its reserve/COVID-19 list today.
Unlike the Broncos-Patriots rescheduling, this Titans game being moved would throw the NFL schedule off axis. The league already moved Tennessee’s Week 4 game against the Steelers to Week 7. Should the NFL be forced to take the Titans-Bills matchup off its Week 5 slate, a new date would be difficult. The league has discussed the prospect of a Week 18 makeup window but has not finalized such a change yet. Another Titans positive test in the coming days may force the league to enact that emergency change.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/8/20
Here are Thursday’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: S Geno Stone
Chicago Bears
- Promoted: LB Devante Bond
Kansas City Chiefs
- Promoted: RB DeAndre Washington
New Orleans Saints
- Waived: OL Will Clapp
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: CB Ross Cockrell, WR Josh Pearson
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/8/20
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: J.J. Wilcox
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: RB Antonio Williams
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: WR Reggie Begelton
Houston Texans
- Signed: K Brett Maher
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: LB Najee Goode
- Released: CB Christian Angulo
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: WR Marcus Kemp
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: DT Lee Autry
New England Patriots
- Signed: TE Paul Quessenberry
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: WR Tommylee Lewis
New York Giants
- Signed: DB Sean Chandler
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: DB Dante Olson
New COVID-19 Positive Test For Titans
On Thursday morning, the Titans received word of yet another positive test, as ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. Meanwhile, a separate “inconclusive” positive from Wednesday been re-tested and found to be a confirmed positive.
[RELATED: NFL Won’t Pause 2020 Season]
The Titans are currently scheduled to play the Bills on Sunday, but that game is very much in flux. This comes one week after the Titans’ outbreak forced the NFL to postpone their game against the Steelers. Since September 24, the Titans (players and personnel) have received 23 positive test results in total.
In addition to the obvious health concerns, the league is also looking at a logistical quagmire. Some have speculated that the regular season will extend to a newly formed Week 18. Others have wondered if the NFL will put the entire season on pause, though that option is not on the table at this time. And, as of this writing, the league is not considering a “bubble” scenario with players confined to team hotels.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs and Raiders received no positive tests in their latest round, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). There was concern in Kansas City after the Chiefs came in close contact with Stephon Gilmore, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year who was found to have had COVID-19 earlier this week. The Raiders also placed a player on the Reserve/COVID-19 list earlier this week, but, at this time, the virus does not appear to have spread throughout the locker room.
Patriots’ Stephon Gilmore Tests Positive For COVID-19
Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore has tested positive for COVID-19, as NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. With that, the Patriots have called off Wednesday’s practice.
Gilmore’s positive tests comes on the heels of quarterback Cam Newton‘s diagnosis. In addition, practice squad defensive lineman Bill Murray has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, which means that he has either come in close contact with someone that has the coronavirus or has it himself.
The Chiefs — who played the Patriots on Monday night — had zero positive tests in Wednesday’s round. However, Gilmore was in close contact with numerous Chiefs players during the game, including star quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Gilmore was also on one of the Patriots’ two team planes, meaning that many more players and personnel members were potentially exposed.
Gilmore, 30, was the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. He’ll be ineligible to play on Sunday against the Broncos, per league protocol, and his diagnosis will likely have a ripple effect on the schedule. More importantly, the hope is that the virus has not spread and that Gilmore remains in good condition.
No Positive COVID-19 Tests For Titans, Chiefs, Patriots In Latest Round
The latest round of COVID-19 testing came back with zero positives for the Titans, Chiefs, and Patriots (Twitter links via Tracy Wolfson of CBS Sports, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter). With that, the Patriots and Chiefs are set to go ahead with tonight’s game, as planned. The Titans, meanwhile, are one step closer to reopening their facilities.
[RELATED: Patriots QB Cam Newton Tests Positive For COVID-19]
Per league protocols, the Titans will need at least two straight days of zero positive tests before reopening. If they get zero positives in Tuesday’s round of testing, they could reopen as soon as Wednesday. It’s encouraging progress — this round marked the first time in seven days that the Titans had zero positives. Previously, the organization had 18 positive tests across six days.
After New England’s Cam Newton and KC’s Jordan Ta’amu also tested positive, there was plenty of speculation that, like the Titans-Steelers Week 4 contest, the Patriots-Chiefs game slated for this week could be pushed back. For now, the game is on. After tonight, the Chiefs will have played three games in ten days. On the other hand, the Chiefs will face a Brian Hoyer-led New England offense tonight with Cam Newton on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Chiefs, Patriots To Play Monday Night
The Chiefs’ latest round of point-of-care COVID-19 tests came back negative, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter). Adam Schefter of ESPN.com had previously reported that the Patriots’ tests also came back negative (Twitter link), so the two clubs will play each other Monday night at 7:05pm ET.
This is obviously great news for the NFL, which is dealing with a significant number of positive tests on the Titans. After New England’s Cam Newton and KC’s Jordan Ta’amu also tested positive, there was plenty of speculation that, like the Titans-Steelers Week 4 contest, the Patriots-Chiefs game slated for this week could be pushed back. For now, it seems like this particular crisis has been averted.
Still, the Chiefs will now face the tall task of playing three games in 10 days, and if the Titans-Bills Week 5 game gets postponed, Buffalo will be coming off a Week 5 bye when it takes on KC. On the other hand, the Chiefs will face a Brian Hoyer-led New England offense tomorrow night, as Newton has now landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Although teams don’t usually undergo tests on gamedays, Schefter reports that both the Patriots and the Chiefs will be tested tomorrow morning (Twitter link). The Falcons-Packers game, the original Monday night contest, will be pushed back to 8:50pm ET.