Ravens Say They Had 4 Unique Strains of COVID-19 in Facility During Outbreak

Baltimore Ravens president Dick Cass addressed the franchise's COVID-19 outbreak Saturday, stating medical personnel identified "at least four unique strains of COVID-19 in our facility."

"Three of the four were stopped and not spread within our organization," Cass said. "Unfortunately, the fourth was a highly-contagious strain and spread throughout our organization."

He went on to state:

"We cannot undo what has occurred. But, we can do our best to learn from what has happened and be vigilant moving forward to ensure that it does not happen again. As the recent experience has shown us, this virus does not need a large opening to spread within an organization, and 99% compliance is not a passing grade when dealing with this virus.

"To our community, our neighbors, our fans and families, we say: Please learn from what happened here. This virus is serious. Very serious. Please take care of yourselves and your loved ones. Let's beat this virus together. Thank you."

The Ravens were scheduled to play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thanksgiving Day. The game was postponed three times until the teams finally stepped on the field Wednesday. Pittsburgh won 19-14 to remain unbeaten at 11-0.

The league has had to postpone multiple games this season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but this game was an exceptional case. The Ravens on Monday had 21 players on the reserve/COVID-19 list, which is used for those who test positive or had close contact with a carrier of the virus.

The Ravens announced Nov. 25 they disciplined a member of their staff in connection to the outbreak, and ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Sunday the NFL was investigating the organization for possible violations of COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

Cass acknowledged in his statement that "not everyone at the Ravens followed the protocol thoroughly."

The league has fined the Tennessee Titans $350,000 for COVID-19 violations, while the Las Vegas Raiders forfeited a sixth-round pick and received a $500,000 fine and the New Orleans Saints were docked a seventh-rounder while incurring a $500,000 fine. The Steelers and New England Patriots have also been fined.