The NFL’s medical director says all procedures followed before the Baltimore Ravens’ game Tuesday night when receiver Dez Bryant tested positive for COVID-19 were done properly and in the same manner as for every case.
Bryant had an inconclusive test result after he was active for the game. He was removed from the field during warmups and tested again. The league and the Ravens then conducted contact tracing, but found no close contacts that would have caused an interruption in playing the game against Dallas, nor the removal of other players or team personnel.
“I made the final determination that there were no high-risk close contacts to the case, so there was no need to remove anyone else,” Dr. Allen Sills said Wednesday. “I would say it was a very straightforward review simply because there were very few contacts identified by the data. I think that’s a reflection of the fact that this club has been under our intensive protocol and certainly has done a tremendous job with compliance around their facility leading up to the game …
“So there were simply very few contacts to be reviewed, and with the cooperation of the player involved, we did not identify any other worrisome contacts. But the same exact process was followed in this case as we do in every case. We made that determination using the same group of people and the same process, and the fact that we were able to do it fairly quickly is not reflective a lack of thoroughness in the process. It’s just simply the amount of data to be sorted through that allowed us to do that.”
Baltimore, which won the game 34-17, couldn’t replace Bryant on the roster.
RAY PERKINS, the former Alabama receiver who replaced Bear Bryant as Crimson Tide’s coach and started the transition with the New York Giants that led to two Super Bowl titles, died Wednesday in Tuscaloosa. He was 79.
Perkins left a head coaching job with the NFL’s Giants to replace Bryant following the 1982 season. It was a dream job for the former Crimson Tide star receiver.
An All-America receiver at Alabama in 1966, Perkins played professionally for the Baltimore Colts from 1967-71.
BRONCOS: The NFL suspended Denver cornerback A.J. Bouye six games without pay for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.
Boyue’s suspension means the Broncos (4-8) have lost their top three cornerbacks in a week. Bryce Callahan went on IR last week with a foot injury and rookie Essang Bassey sustained a season-ending knee injury Sunday against the Chiefs.
Bouye will be able to participate in the offseason and preseason practices and exhibition games next summer, but barring a successful appeal will still have to sit out the first two games of the 2021 regular season.
STEELERS: Pittsburgh’s struggling running game received a boost on Wednesday when James Conner was activated off the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Conner missed each of Pittsburgh’s last two games, including a 23-17 upset loss to Washington on Monday that ended the Steelers’ bid for an unbeaten season. Pittsburgh (11-1) managed 21 yards on 14 carries, the franchise’s lowest single-game rushing total since 1970.
Conner, in the final year of his rookie contract, has run for a team-high 645 yards and five touchdowns, including an 89-yard performance against Jacksonville in his previous start last month. He is expected to be in the starting lineup when Pittsburgh visits surging Buffalo (9-3) on Sunday night.
PANTHERS: A thigh injury could put Christian McCaffrey’s return to the field on hold. The Panthers’ 2019 All-Pro running back, who has already missed nine games with a high ankle sprain and a shoulder sprain, was limited in practice Wednesday with a new injury to his thigh.
Panthers coach Matt Rhule said McCaffrey tweaked his thigh last week during private workouts and it resurfaced on Wednesday. That has left his status for Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos up in the air with Rhule now saying “we’ll see if he’s available to play versus the Broncos.”
GIANTS: While saying his injured right hamstring was feeling better, New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones scrambled when asked whether he would be able to play this weekend against the Arizona Cardinals.
Giants Coach Joe Judge said earlier Wednesday he was optimistic Jones would be able to return after missing last weekend’s game in Seattle. The rookie coach tempered his comments, saying Jones has to show he can protect himself before he will be allowed to play Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
Jones practiced on a limited basis Wednesday as the Giants (5-7) held a walk-through workout to start preparations for the Cardinals (6-6). The second-year player said he has tested his hamstring in some drills with trainers, and his job for the rest of the week is doing everything he can to get ready.
Veteran backup Colt McCoy, who played in the win over Seattle, would get the start again if Jones is not ready.
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