The NFL moved Saturday afternoon’s scheduled game between the Cleveland Browns and Las Vegas Raiders to Monday night, plus two Sunday games to Tuesday, because of a rise in COVID-19 cases across the league.
The Raiders and Browns will play the first game of a Monday night doubleheader at 5 p.m. ET in Cleveland. The regularly scheduled game between the Minnesota Vikings and host Chicago Bears at Soldier Field will follow at 8:20 p.m. ET.
The league also moved Sunday’s scheduled games between the Washington Football Team and Philadelphia Eagles, as well as the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks, to Tuesday night at 7 p.m. ET.
Cleveland, Washington, and the Rams all have more than 20 cases of COVID-19. Moving the games by 48 hours could give time for some players to clear health and safety protocols.
“We have made these schedule changes based on medical advice and after discussion with the NFLPA as we are seeing a new, highly transmissible form of the virus this week resulting in a substantial increase in cases across the league,” the league said in a news release.
“We continue to make decisions in consultation with medical experts to ensure the health and safety of the NFL community.”
In the case of Cleveland and Washington, both their starting quarterbacks—Baker Mayfield and Taylor Heinicke, respectively— as well as their backups are in the protocol.
