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Dez Bryant was pulled from the field minutes before Baltimore Ravens’ game against the Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday; the 32-year-old says he won’t return to action this season; Bryant played in three games for Baltimore after signing on October 27
Last Updated: 09/12/20 7:08am
Dez Bryant has ruled himself out of the remainder of the 2020 NFL season after the Baltimore Ravens wide receiver tested positive for coronavirus.
Bryant missed Tuesday night’s game against his former team the Dallas Cowboys – a game Baltimore won 34-17 – after returning a positive point-of-care rapid test minutes before kick-off.
The 32-year-old subsequently took to Twitter and questioned whether the game should have gone ahead after news of his diagnosis.
Yea I’m going to go ahead and call it a quit for the rest of the season… I can’t deal with this
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) December 9, 2020
Since I tested positive for Covid before the game do the game stop or go on? @NFL
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) December 9, 2020
“Yea I’m going to go ahead and call it a quit for the rest of the season, I can’t deal with this,” Bryant said.
“Since I tested positive for COVID-19 before the game do the game stop or go on? @NFL.”
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that Baltimore – owing to the team’s close proximity to the test lab – receive their test results the same day rather than overnight.
With the game starting just after 8pm, the re-testing process meant Bryant was at the stadium before he was taken off the field.
Pelissero added that all other Baltimore players tested negative and no high-risk close contacts were identified.
One more note: The NFL did its usual contact tracing, including Kinexon tracking data and interviews, and did not determine any high-risk close contacts. Same procedures as any other positive test. Prepared to pull those if identified, but none were identified. So, only Dez out.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 9, 2020
Part of the NFL’s criteria for determining whether a player was a high-risk close contact or not is whether the player was exposed to the infected individual while not wearing a mask.
Whenever a player tests positive for coronavirus, the league conducts contact tracing and determines who qualifies as a high-risk close contact.
Baltimore had signed Bryant to their practice squad on October 27 and the receiver played in three games for the Ravens, recording four receptions for 28 yards – his first NFL action in almost two years.
He previously spent eight seasons with the Cowboys before his release after the 2017 season.
He was a free agent for seven months before signing a deal with the New Orleans in November 2018, however Bryant tore his Achilles tendon two days after signing with the Saints.
