1. Monitoring the Titans Situation
As of Wednesday morning, two more Titans players tested positive for COVID-19 after two straight days of all negative tests. The Titans were hoping to open back up their facility and start preparing for their game against the Bills. All of that is on hold as the NFL gathers more information. Bills head coach Sean McDermott said that they are taking the situation seriously but also controlling what he can control.
"We're aware of the situation," McDermott stated. "we are monitoring the situation as well, and it's certainly a situation that we take seriously. That said, there's obviously a human side to this and making sure everyone is healthy. As we focus on us here at the Buffalo Bills and our building, that has always been our number one goal, the safety and well-being of our employees, our staff, and our players. That being said, because of the nature of where things are coming from in terms of our opponent in Tennessee this week. With their situation, it's important that we focus on the pieces that we can control. That for us is aimed at making sure that we're doing things right here with the protocols, and then that we have a good week of practice, leading up to the game."
2. The players are informed but focused on this week
Coming into this season, it was known that the Coronavirus was going to be involved and disrupt daily life for NFL teams, coaches, and players. Sean McDermott talked about his players and said they have heard of what is going on but are trying to stay focused on the tasks at hand this week.
"I would say they're aware of it, much like we are as an organization," McDermott said. "In terms of, they're aware of it and their antennas are up. Most of these young guys follow social media rather closely, for better or worse. But that said, I know they're focused on going and taking the field here in a few minutes to practice. I understand, as I said before, there's a human element to this and it takes mental toughness to do our best to compartmentalize that. But that's what we need to do right now, so that's what we plan on doing as we take the practice field shortly."
3. Daily testing is important
Raiders defensive tackle Maurice Hurst was put on the Reserve/COVID-19 list today after he tested positive for the virus. Because the Bills played in Vegas last week, there are concerns that it potentially could have spread to Bills players. The good news is right now that McDermott said that there have been no positive tests for the Bills organization. Hopefully, this team can continue the streak of having no positive cases, and daily testing will help figure that out. McDermott spoke about daily testing and how awareness is key.
"I mean we continue to test daily which I think is a great thing for us to have," McDermott explained. "Nothing has changed to my knowledge and my understanding to this point. Other than us knowing about it, the guys being aware of it, and their antenna's being up. We hope it's a contained situation, and that's what we pray for going forward here."
4. Feliciano returns to practice
McDermott gave insight on some of the injuries the team has been dealing with.
For Matt Milano and Levi Wallace, who both left the last week's game with injuries, they both did not practice today. Jon Feliciano has been on injured reserve to start the season dealing with a pectoral injury. McDermott said that "he will begin practicing today, in some capacity."
The full injury list from today's practice is listed below.
