Several Detroit Lions coaches have been deemed close contacts due to contact tracing following two positive COVID-19 tests Tuesday and will be staying away from the facility until further notice, the franchise announced in a statement Wednesday morning.
Detroit did not say which coaches would be away from the facility, although a source told ESPN they are on the defensive side of the ball. The Lions, scheduled to play Tampa Bay on Saturday, are planning on virtual meetings Wednesday morning and are still hoping to conduct an outdoor practice in the afternoon.
Interim head coach Darrell Bevell’s usual 11 a.m. press conference has also been postponed.
On Tuesday, after the two positive tests were announced — the Lions placed practice squad linebacker Anthony Pittman on the COVID-19 reserve list later in the day — Bevell said the team was still going through the process of contact tracing to determine next steps.
“You have to go back through the contract tracing and all those things, the close contacts, have to figure out what all those are and where they stand with that,” Bevell said Tuesday. “I think I’ll know more tonight about tomorrow. Right now, we’re planning on being in the building tomorrow, but that could change as well. We could go without.
“We could go with virtual meetings again tomorrow and not have practice as well. So just have to play that by ear.”
The Detroit Free Press is reporting one Lions defensive assistant did not wear his contact tracing device at all times and another assistant held a meeting in person is his office.
The Lions have already been coaching short-handed after firing head coach Matt Patricia on Nov. 28, promoting Bevell to interim head coach. Before the positive tests and contact tracing, they further shrunk their staff when the club fired special teams coordinator Brayden Coombs on Monday following a failed fake punt that contradicted direct instruction from Bevell.
It’s unclear at this point how many coaches Detroit could have available for Saturday’s game.