Report: 49ers Player Tests Positive For COVID-19; Player Among Group Working Out In Nashville
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A player for the San Francisco 49ers who has been working out with other team players in Nashville, Tennessee has tested positive for COVID-19, according to published reports.
NFL Network reporter Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport reported the development Friday. The San Francisco 49ers issued a statement saying, "Federal and state privacy laws prohibit our organization from commenting on the personal health of our employees."
Garafolo reported the group of players is getting tested and determining how and when they can travel. The players reportedly include quarterbacks Jimmy Garoppolo, Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard; star tight end George Kittle, fullback Kyle Juszczyk, and receivers Kendrick Bourne, Deebo Samuel, Trent Taylor, Dante Pettis and Brandon Aiyuk.
NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero reported the group of players includes all of the 49ers quarterbacks and other skill players. The other players were tested on Friday and were awaiting the results, Pelissero reported.
The latest report of coronavirus infections in the NFL comes in the same week multiple players on the Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys tested positive for the virus.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, questioned Thursday whether the NFL will be able to hold its season unless it mirrors the steps the NBA and MLS are taking to isolate players in closed communities.
"Unless players are essentially in a bubble -- insulated from the community and they are tested nearly every day -- it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall," Fauci told CNN. "If there is a second wave, which is certainly a possibility and which would be complicated by the predictable flu season, football may not happen this year."
