Tennessee Titans' Covid-19 outbreak grows as star player tests positive

Nashville, Tennessee - The Tennessee Titans are experiencing another Covid-19 outbreak this year as their starting quarterback has tested positive for the virus, making it now nine members forced to step away from the team.

Titans QB Ryan Tannehill is the ninth member of the team to test positive for Covid-19 in less than a week.
Titans QB Ryan Tannehill is the ninth member of the team to test positive for Covid-19 in less than a week.  © IMAGO / Icon SMI

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill (33) is another star football player that has been directly affected by the coronavirus, after testing positive earlier this week.

The news was revealed by Titans general manager Jon Robinson on Thursday in an official team press conference.

The Titans QB joins head coach Mike Vrabel, who shared his own positive status this past Sunday, and seven other players and team staffers who are all now isolated with the virus and unable to return to the team until cleared, as per NFL protocol.

Tannehill is believed to now be fully vaccinated, but there are reports that he perhaps wasn't at the start of his team’s training camp, over three weeks ago.

Robinson was certain in his remarks during the conference on Thursday that his team was "97 to 98% vaccinated," but didn’t specify if Tannehill indeed was among the inoculated.

This isn’t the first time the Titans have had to batten down the hatches during the pandemic. They were the first in the NFL to have suffered an outbreak that forced the postponement of two regular-season games last year.

It seems that now some fingers are being pointed at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who hosted the Titans this past weekend.

They may not have kept their hosting to just the field, as word has gotten out that some members of both the Titans and the Bucs dined together at a local Tampa restaurant.

It’s rumored that Bucs kicker – and former Titan – Ryan Succop, who has now also tested positive, was among the many players and staff involved in the dinner outing.

Since testing positive, Tannehill could be out for as little as five days, provided he tests negative twice over 48 hours or stays quarantined for a minimum of 10 days.

Cover photo: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

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