NFL Execs: 'Open Secret' Titans Didn't Enforce Mask Guidelines Before Outbreak

The Tennessee Titans have already seen one game postponed and could have another postponed this week, with 23 players and staff members testing positive for COVID-19. 

Titans guard Rodger Saffold also revealed Wednesday that the players had been holding off-site practices since the NFL shut down their practice facility on Sept. 30 following the outbreak. And according to Mike Sando of The Athletic, executives around the NFL suspect the team hasn't been following other protocols:

"Execs from multiple teams said it's been an open secret that the Titans have not strictly enforced guidelines regarding masks within their facility. The execs said they knew this through conversations with Titans staffers predating the outbreak. If this is true, the NFL will find proof on surveillance videos from inside team headquarters. Saffold's revelation raises another red flag, even if the practice session was held before an NFL memo was distributed explicitly banning such gatherings."

The NFL is also investigating the player-led practices:

The NFL Network's Tom Pelissero added that the team's facility "remains closed today and it's highly unlikely to reopen Friday, I'm told. Game Sunday vs. the Bills remains on as scheduled for now, but the NFL continues to evaluate the situation."

As for the potential punishments the Titans could be facing depending on the findings of the NFL's investigation, one executive told Sando it could be a harsh ruling.

"I think they forfeit a game, lose a draft pick and incur a fine," the executive said. "I'd nail them, but hopefully they can get their s--t together after that and be able to play."

Another executive wanted to see the results of the investigation before discussing punishments. 

"You have to establish clear complicity in violating rules before you start talking about penalties, and you need to know the level of culpability," that executive said. "To what extent were coaches and people in positions of power involved in, say, any practices that were held or whatever else."

One thing a number of executives reportedly agreed on, however, was that it's hard to believe the players held their own practices without anyone in the organization or coaching staff knowing it was happening. 

"Somewhere, there has to be some captains of the team who meet with the head coach and say they are thinking about doing this, and the coach says not to do it, that getting together in a big group probably is not a good idea," one executive told Sando. 

If the NFL indeed finds that masking mandates weren't being enforced or that coaches and executives knew about the player-led practices, it stands to reason that serious punishments will follow. For now, the main question is whether Sunday's game between the Titans and Buffalo Bills will go ahead as scheduled.