The 2021 NFL season brings with it another chance to cheer for Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry, and the Tennessee Titans, but this time, there’s a twist. 17 games are on the regular-season schedule, and with so many heavyweight teams in the AFC, the Titans will need their best effort in all of them if a second consecutive AFC South crown is in the cards.
That means, no doubt, that Tennessee’s players and coaches will need to protect themselves both on and off the field. In other words, precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 must be taken in 2021 like they were in 2020.
Tennessee Titans fans should make themselves aware of this ruling.
Last season, before the NFL had a league-wide vaccine available, everyone from the Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, and Miami Dolphins to the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles, and Las Vegas Raiders suffered outbreaks. The Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, and Dallas Cowboys saw team outbreaks as well.
That led to postponements of games, short weeks, interruptions in a bye week or two, and a few games that fell on odd days. This year, the NFL will try to re-establish some order as they recently shared a memo that states that any team that is unable to play their scheduled game and is unable to reschedule it within the 18-week regular season due to COVID-19 concerns will be forced to forfeit the said contest.
Here’s the memo just in case you missed it.
Here’s more from today’s memo, which also says the team responsible for a canceled game because of an outbreak among unvaccinated players/staff will be responsible for financial losses and subject to potential discipline from the commissioner. Wow. pic.twitter.com/Q86a2WcG1K
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 22, 2021
Naturally, the more important issue here, more so than determining whether or not a team is able to play a football game, is ensuring safety not only for NFL stars and their coaches but for the community, stadium employees, the franchise’s staff, and fans as well.
Keep your fingers crossed for a healthy season for all 32 teams, but from a wins and losses standpoint, this gives the Tennessee Titans and their fans something to think about as they prepare for another NFL season, one that they hope will be pretty special.