Cleveland Browns close facility, delay flight to New Jersey after positive COVID-19 test

Cleveland Browns close facility, delay flight to New Jersey

The Cleveland Browns have delayed their flight to New Jersey and closed their facility on Saturday after a player tested positive for COVID-19, the team announced in a statement.

Currently, the Browns are scheduled to play the New York Jets on Sunday. Now, the facility is closed while the team works with the league on contact tracing.

Earlier, this week, the Browns placed rookie offensive tackle Jedrick Willis on the COVID-19 Reserve List as he was deemed a high-risk, close contact to someone outside of the building that tested positive for the virus.

However, Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reports that Wills is not the player that tested positive and closed the facility, and he is still on pace to start for the Browns on Sunday, as long as he is able to produce one more negative test.

Unlike other organizations around the league, the Browns have not had to delay games due to COVID-19. With this contact tracing happening less than 24 hours from kickoff, the Browns could be in jeopardy of losing players that were merely close contacts and did not test positive for the virus.

Currently, the Browns are working in tandem with the NFL’s medical experts to determine those close contacts and to make a decision about putting the team in the air and route to New Jersey.

With the AFC North title potentially on the line and a playoff birth within reach, the Browns now have to battle COVID-19 and the protocols that follow before they take the field against the Jets.