The Steelers and Bengals are each dealing with their own COVID-19 situations.
On Monday, Pittsburgh announced that TE Vance McDonald tested positive for COVID-19 and was subsequently placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. McDonald remains their lone positive test, but four players have been deemed high-risk, close contact to McDonald.
OL Jerald Hawkins, RB Jaylen Samuels, and LB Vince Williams, and QB Ben Roethlisberger have been placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list and must self-isolate for five days. This means that while all four players can still play on Sunday, they cannot practice with the team and must test negative for the virus twice in the upcoming five-day period.
We have placed QB Ben Roethlisberger, OL Jerald Hawkins, RB Jaylen Samuels, and LB Vince Williams on the Reserve/COVID-19 List.https://t.co/slWaWb7gnf
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) November 10, 2020
The Bengals had two of their own players test positive for COVID-19 for the first time all season last Friday. RT Fred Johnson and CB Trae Waynes were placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list late last week and DL Margus Hunt, LB Jordan Evans, and CB Mackensie Alexander have since joined them on the list as high-risk, close contact designations.
Alexander went to Twitter to confirm he didn’t test positive. The same can be assumed for both Hunt and Evans.
I don’t have COVID no worries!!#WhoDey
— Mackensie Alexander (@MackAlexander20) November 10, 2020
In total, there are 10 players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list between the two teams with three of them being confirmed positives. So long as the seven who did not test positive remain negative throughout the week and the other players and staff members remain negative, Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh should still commence.