Ravens' Dez Bryant Says He Tested Positive for COVID-19 Before Cowboys Game

Dez Bryant will be unable to play against his old team Tuesday night.  

Less than an hour before he was supposed to line up against the Dallas Cowboys, the Baltimore Ravens wide receiver announced he tested positive for COVID-19 (warning: tweet contains profanity):

The Ravens subsequently confirmed Bryant will be absent due to an illness.

Bryant announced he intends to sit out the remainder of the season following his positive test:

Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reported on the pregame show that Bryant had received an inconclusive test result earlier in the day, so he was briefly on the field for warmups. The three-time Pro Bowler was pulled once the a subsequent showed a positive result.

According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the rest of the Ravens received the green light to play:

Baltimore is coming off a significant outbreak that forced the postponement of its Week 12 encounter with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The teams were originally supposed to play on Thanksgiving Day but didn't cross paths until Dec. 2, with Pittsburgh coming away a 19-14 winner.

Ravens president Dick Cass said that medical personnel discovered "at least four unique strains of COVID-19 in our facility." One of the strains was "highly-contagious" and "spread throughout our organization."

Cass also acknowledged that "not everyone at the Ravens followed the protocol thoroughly."

Bryant signed with Baltimore's practice squad in November and made his debut in the team's Week 9 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, the first time he played in an NFL game since December 2017. His year is now apparently over after he caught four passes for 28 yards in three appearances.