Instead of feeling hyped coming off a bye week and a preceding 40-32 win over rivals the Kansas City Chiefs that propelled them to 3-2 on the season, the Las Vegas Raiders may now be wondering if a Sunday night game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is in jeopardy of being moved to a later date.
Earlier in the day, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero (h/t Nick Shook) reported that the Raiders are placing offensive tackle Trent Brown on the reserve/COVID-19 list. The situation then escalated when head coach Jon Gruden told reporters that he was sending all five starting offensive linemen home because they apparently were in contact with Brown.
Raiders’ HC Jon Gruden said his team sent home all five starting offensive linemen today because they were closest to Trent Brown, who will be placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 21, 2020
“I’m concerned about his health,” Gruden said. pic.twitter.com/H7pc9hjMxk
A positive for Gruden and the Raiders is that players were off on Tuesday. However, the club did add rookie cornerback Damon Arnette to the reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday, and recent history has shown that the NFL will move a Sunday game to the midweek to prevent virus spread among clubs.
Arnette hasn't played since Sept. 27 because of an injury.
Las Vegas plays at the Cleveland Browns on Nov. 1, while Tampa Bay will face the New York Giants in East Rutherford on Nov. 2.
"We’ll have 5 (linemen) on Sunday, we’ll be ready to go," Gruden added on Wednesday, per a TMZ Sports story.
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