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- Mar 18, 2019
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The Lions will be without head coach Darrell Bevell, defensive coordinator Cory Undlin, and other defensive assistant coaches for Saturday’s game against the Buccaneers because of COVID-19 protocols and Bevell confirmed that the team asked the league to push the game back as a result of the situation.
Bevell told reporters that the team “did push to have things that could help us” and was “disappointed” when the league didn’t change the schedule. With most of the coaches out as high-risk close contacts of someone who tested positive, Bevell said a delay of one day would have allowed them to have a fuller staff.
“If the game were on Sunday, I’d be there because the time frame would be up and really all these coaches would be able to be there,” Bevell said, via Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. “That’s the most disappointing part. But, you know, we got to go with what they’re telling us.”
The NFL has rescheduled games this season in hopes of stemming COVID-19 outbreaks within teams, but they have not done so for competitive reasons. The Broncos lost a game to the Saints with practice squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton playing quarterback in the most notable example of that stance.
The Lions announced one player and one coach tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week, but there’s been no sign of an ongoing outbreak heading into the weekend.