Ravens reportedly have more positive tests; Steelers game potentially in jeopardy

Chris Adamski
Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020 8:48 a.m. | Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020 8:48 a.m.

Madasyn Lee | Tribune-Review

An empty parking lot near Heinz Field that would normally be full of tailgaters sits bare before the Pittsburgh Steelers home opener on Sept. 20, 2020. The lots also will be empty Thanksgiving Day, after the Steelers game against the Baltimore Ravens was postponed until Sunday out of coronavirus concerns. Further positive tests among the Ravens organization are making it appear increasingly possible the game won’t be played Sunday, either.

“Multiple” coronavirus tests among Baltimore Ravens came back positive Thursday, according to CBS Sports reports, potentially further endangering the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers that already has been pushed back because of covid-19 concerns.

In an early Thanksgiving Day morning post to his verified Twitter account, CBS’ Jason La Canfora reported the tests among the Ravens. The team has not commented yet and neither have the Steelers nor the NFL. When the number of positive tests among Baltimore players was believed to have grown to at least six Wednesday, the league moved what was scheduled as a Thursday night kickoff at Heinz Field to 1:15 p.m. Sunday.

The CBS report said there are “no changes to status yet” but that the “NFL continues to closely monitor the situation to determine if this game is still played Sunday.”

Per @TomWolfPA spokesperson Lyndsay Kensinger (via @tribjoerutter), no fans (unless guests of players/staff) will be permitted at Steelers/Ravens

Moving of game to Sun moves it past Fri, when Wolf order furthering limits on crowd sizes goes into effecthttps://t.co/8lkFYvVCFQ

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) November 25, 2020

In addition to the players, multiple Ravens staff members have tested covid-19 positive, according to multiple published reports. Thursday is the fourth consecutive day the Ravens have had tests come back positive.

The Steelers-Ravens game was the first to be postponed since Oct. 11. The Steelers previously had a game at Tennessee postponed three weeks because of an outbreak within the Titans organization last month.

The roughly 5,500 fans who had tickets for game originally scheduled for Thursday night at Heinz Field are not permitted to attend the game after it was moved to Sunday. An order by Pa. Gov. Tom Wolf that tightened limits on the sizes of gatherings goes into effect Friday.

Art Rooney II thanks fans for support and expresses disappointment the Steelers won’t be playing on Thanksgiving as scheduled. https://t.co/K9ZSHaIN8U

— Joe Rutter (@tribjoerutter) November 26, 2020

Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.

Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.