NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Bears took the field Sunday against the Titans after the team flew with a player who tested positive for coronavirus.
Offensive lineman Lachavious Simmons was tested with all players Saturday before the trip, and his test came back positive after the team arrived in Nashville, Tenn. that evening. The Bears isolated him from the rest of their traveling party and put him on the reserve/COVID-19 list three hours before kickoff.
All other players were reported to have tested negative when they took the rapid point-of-care test, which gets a result in less than an hour, Sunday morning.
That is far from an all-clear for the Bears, though, and it’s especially concerning coming at the end of a week in which their roster took several hits from the pandemic.
Offensive tackle Jason Spriggs, who was filling in for injured right tackle Bobby Massie, tested positive Monday (right guard Germain Ifedi was deemed a high-risk close contact and had to quarantine). Center Cody Whitehair tested positive Thursday. And now Simmons.
With three players from the same position group testing positive, the Bears can only hope that cluster isn’t the start of much larger problem.
Additionally, once the team reached Nashville, backup safety Deon Bush reported that he had been in close contact with someone who tested positive.
Two factors work in the Bears’ favor as they try to prevent an outbreak.
The first is that coach Matt Nagy has taken the pandemic protocols extremely seriously from the start and has strictly enforced them within the team. Masks are mandatory, and players wore them in pre-game warmups Sunday.
The second is that the Bears’ next game is Nov. 16 at home against the Vikings. While it’s not ideal, Nagy could keep players and staff out of the Halas Hall until Thursday and still have the usual three days of practice before the game.
Before last week, the Bears had minimal issues with coronavirus. Several players were put on the reserve/COVID-19 in the preseason, but their only positive test during the season was practice squad offensive lineman Badara Traore.
The Bears called up offensive linemen Traore, Dieter Eiselen and Aaron Neary from the practice squad for the Titans game. Traore and Eiselen are undrafted rookies, and Neary was out of the league until joining the practice squad Tuesday.
