A day after the names piled up on the covid-19 list of their next opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers had some apparent positive tests of their own.
Starting inside linebacker Devin Bush joined backup offensive tackle Zach Banner and backup inside linebacker Macus Allen on the Steelers’ covid list, it was announced Wednesday. Team policy does not reveal the reasoning for such moves, but the Steelers are known to be an almost-fully vaccinated team, and vaccinated players who end up on the list are almost always because of positive tests.
Before Wednesday, nose tackle Montravius Adams was the only player on the Steelers’ covid list. Adams missed this past Sunday’s win against the Tennessee Titans.
The Steelers are scheduled to play Sunday at the Kansas City Chiefs. Ten Chiefs players went on the covid list between Monday and Tuesday, including some high-profile stars such as tight end Travis Kelce and receiver Tyreek Hill among six starters.
Bush had one of his better games of 2021 against the Titans in what has been a much-criticized season for 2019’s 10th overall draft pick. Robert Spillane returned from injury this past week and was part of a rotation at inside linebacker. Spillane started in place of Bush most of 2020 after Bush suffered a torn ACL.
But with no Allen, the Steelers’ depth at inside linebacker is stretched.
Banner has been a backup since coming off injured reserve this season, and Allen is mostly a special-teams performer, although Allen had earned a subpackage role on defense the past two games.
A tweak in the NFL’s protocol suggests that none of the players on either team is assured of missing Sunday’s game. Vaccinated players no longer are required to produce two negative tests 24 hours apart and instead can exit protocol if they have two negative tests on the same day or one negative test and an antibody test shows the individual has reached a certain level.
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