TAMPA, Fla. — Two days after Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel tested positive for COVID-19, Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Ryan Succop has also tested positive for the virus and will miss Saturday’s final preseason game against the Houston Texans, coach Bruce Arians said Tuesday.
The Titans took part in joint practices at the Buccaneers’ facility Wednesday and Thursday and played Saturday night. Vrabel tested positive Sunday morning.
“All contacts [with Vrabel] were outside. We had one that went to dinner with some guys that did test positive today,” Arians said. “He went to dinner with some Titan friends. That was Ryan Succop. So he’s out for this game.”
Succop is fully vaccinated. When asked if there were any other close contacts that would need to be monitored, Arians replied, “No.”
According to NFL protocols, players, coaches and other personnel who are identified as close contacts and are vaccinated are required to take three consecutive days of MESA tests, but are not required to isolate. That three-day window was Sunday-Tuesday, a team source told ESPN.
Had Succop been unvaccinated, he likely would have been deemed a “high-risk close contact” and would have been required to isolate at home for five days, plus five days of monitoring, along with daily testing.
The Titans altered their COVID-19 protocol Tuesday, requiring all players, coaches and support staff to wear masks inside their building. League rules state that only those who are unvaccinated are required to wear masks indoors. The Titans added two more players to the reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday: running back Jeremy McNichols and linebacker Nick Dzubnar, in addition to defensive lineman Anthony Rush, who was placed on the list Monday.
On the Bucs’ side, Arians was counting on playing his starters extensively this week. Succop will be replaced by Jose Borregales, an undrafted free agent out of the University of Miami who has put together a strong camp but has yet to kick in a preseason game.
ESPN’s Turron Davenport contributed to this report.
