The NFL on Thursday announced a schedule change to Sunday’s slate of games, removing the Las Vegas Raiders-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game out of primetime in favor of one between the host Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks.
The move comes amid an outbreak of COVID-19 on the Raiders and potential exposure to other players on the team. The Raiders’ entire corps of starting offensive linemen — as well as starting safety Johnathan Abram — were sent home Wednesday after contact tracing efforts surrounding offensive tackle Trent Brown’s addition to the Reserve/COVID-19 list.
“These decisions were made out of an abundance of caution to ensure that a game would be available for fans on Sunday Night Football,” the NFL announced in a press release.
“We expect the Buccaneers-Raiders game to be played on Sunday afternoon. Scheduling decisions are made to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel and in consultation with medical experts.”
The Raiders’ game against the Bucs game in Las Vegas is now scheduled to kick off at 4:05 p.m. ET.
The Seahawks at Cardinals game becomes the Sunday night game and will start at 8:20 p.m. ET.
In addition to Brown, the Raiders placed Damon Arnette on COVID reserve earlier in the week, despite the fact he was already on injured reserve.
–Field Level Media
