Another player of the Baltimore Ravens has tested positive for COVID-19, the NFL team said on Thursday, only a day after welcoming back All-Pro cornerback Marlon Humphrey from the COVID-19 list.
Humphrey remained in 10-day quarantine under league protocols designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
The Ravens said Thursday that the latest player to test positive, who was not named, was self-quarantining and that there were no other high-risk contacts involved in the case.
“We were informed this morning that a Ravens player has tested positive for COVID-19,” the Ravens said in a statement, as per AFP inputs. “He immediately began to self-quarantine, and our organization is now in the NFL’s intensive protocol.”
“There were no high-risk contacts, and no other player or staff member is required to isolate.
“We will continue to work closely with the NFL, our team doctors and trainers and will follow their guidance.”
According to coach John Harbaugh, the Ravens increased their coronavirus precautions during Sunday’s 24-10 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
Harbaugh said the players wore masks on the sideline, in the locker room after the game and on the return trip to Baltimore.
“It’s something that we take very seriously and we’re working hard at,” he said Wednesday to AFP.
Humphrey confirmed on November 2 that he had tested positive, becoming the first Baltimore player to do so during the regular season.
Seven Ravens defensive players were identified as high-risk close contacts to Humphrey, but all returned from the COVID-19 reserve list after isolating for five days and testing negative for the virus.
Next, the Ravens are scheduled to play the Patriots in New England on Sunday.
As coronavirus cases surge in parts of the United States, the NFL continues to navigate the pandemic.
Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday he expects quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to play Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals even though he was added to the team’s COVID-19 reserve list along with four other players after one player tested positive.
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While Roethlisberger had to self-isolate for five days, Tomlin said a negative test and lack of any symptoms would allow him to play this weekend.
“These are issues everybody in the league has to deal with,” Tomlin said this week. “We’re working our tails off to adhere to the protocol.”
But Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers complained this week that there are “double-standards” built into the anti-virus measures put in place by the NFL and NFL Players Association.
“You can dap up a guy after a game, but you can’t eat at the same lunch table as a teammate,” Rodgers said Tuesday on SiriusXM radio’s “The Pat McAfee Show”.
“You can go down to practice and hit each other and be in close contact, but you have to have Plexiglass between you and the guy next to you in the locker room.
“I just think some of those things, to me, really don’t add up.”