The Tennessee Titans are remaining hopeful that they will be able to play their scheduled game against the Buffalo Bills this Sunday, after postponing their scheduled October 4 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers because of COVID-19. According to ESPN, a total of 20 players and staff members within the organization tested positive for the virus.
Although the Titans hope to return to their practice facility on Wednesday, pending testing results, Coach Mike Vrabel says the players who were sick will not be able to play this week’s game, instead relying on the practice squad to fill in for the missing players.
“Some of those guys have played for us, some of those guys haven’t played for us,” Coach Vrabel said in an update shared on the Titans’ social media pages. “I know that they’re excited, and I’m looking forward to seeing them play.”
Coach Vrabel has a lot of faith in the practice squad, which is why he feels confident in seeing the team take the field against the Buffalo Bills, who are 4-0 this season, on Sunday.
“I’m looking forward to seeing them play … The most important thing is always going to be the players,” Coach Vrabel said, via the Titans website. “Without them, we don’t have a game. But I am hopeful that we’ll get most of the staff members back. The ones that aren’t won’t have role in the game. … I think we are set up pretty good to be able to handle some of these things at each position.
“The versatility we have on the staff at different places (helps). We’re just going to try and prepare the team and take the 48 guys that we feel like give us the best chance to win on Sunday,” he added. “I know that our staff is ready to teach and ready to prepare the players for the game on Sunday.”
Even without being able to practice together, Coach Vrabel feels optimistic about the upcoming game against the Buffalo Bills, thanks to how hard his team has worked, even while apart.
“I’m hopeful, excited, that we’ve been able to string together a couple of really good days as far as the testing and really just getting back to where we were,” Coach Vrabel said. “We’re hoping for some continued good news tomorrow morning and then we’ll see where we are with the league, and we’re hopeful to return and be able to get back in the building safely.”
“Meetings are going well – I think the players have been very intentional with their time in the meetings, trying to stay engaged, and the coaches as well,” he praised. “We’ll get those going tomorrow and as soon as we hear from the league, and we’ll try and get everybody in whenever we can.”