Dec 2, 2020; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) warms up before playing the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Technically, the NFL followed its own protocols by holding Tuesday night’s game between the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens despite a last-minute positive COVID-19 test for Ravens wide receiver Dez Bryant.

Bryant was warming up when word of the positive test emerged, but at that point he was immediately removed from the field and sent home. No other players were scratched because, according to ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert, the league didn’t identify any high-risk Bryant contacts.

Bryant was spotted hugging and conversing with players prior to the game, but the NFL/NFLPA COVID-19 policy specifically rules out “brief interactions” as part of its criteria for removing players based on contact tracing.

But with COVID-19 outbreaks increasing league- and nation-wide, this was a situation in which the NFL still had space to set a good example by erring on the side of caution without significantly altering the schedule.

Many who have been in or around NFL facilities and locker rooms will find it hard to believe that Bryant avoided close contact with all of his coaches and teammates in the days, hours, and minutes leading up to Tuesday’s game.

And the reality is that even if the 32-year-old and his colleagues abided by protocols to a tee, we’ve learned that this extremely contagious virus can be transmitted anyway.

So why rush to play this game? Why not at least take a step back and tentatively postpone it by 24 hours?

The Ravens might have been happy to get it out of the way considering the 34-17 result in their favor, but Baltimore played on Wednesday last week, and its Week 14 Monday Night Football matchup with the Cleveland Browns easily could’ve been moved back 24 or 48 hours to Tuesday or Wednesday in order to compensate for a 24-hour delay in this situation.

The Cowboys hadn’t played since Nov. 26, and wouldn’t have been significantly impacted by a Wednesday-Sunday turnaround ahead of their Week 14 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals. That’s tantamount to a typical Sunday-Thursday week, but the NFL also could’ve bought the Cowboys more time by postponing Dallas-Cincinnati to Monday or Tuesday.

No new cases Wednesday morning? Cool. Dallas and Baltimore take the field knowing the protocols appeared to work, and that all players and staffers are more likely to be in the clear.

More cases Wednesday morning? You breathe a sigh of relief that you took a guarded, careful approach with regard to the health and safety of players and team employees, and you take solace in the fact you’ve limited the potential damage moving forward.

The latter scenario could’ve resulted in Cowboys-Ravens being moved to a “Week 18” with an asterisk. If by then neither team could move in or out of the playoffs, and if no other necessary games have been added to a hypothetical Week 18 schedule, you scrap the game entirely.

It’s a small price to pay in order to protect the hundreds of human beings who are in day-to-day contact within both organizations, but also because there’s a risk that by playing this game this week with the virus spreading within either team’s locker room or facility, the potential domino effect associated with that spread could trigger a much more catastrophic scheduling quagmire.

Sadly, because the league boldly went forward with the game Tuesday rather than exercising reasonable, not-entirely-inconvenient alternatives, that possibility still exists. If it turns out Bryant’s case is not isolated, the Ravens just increased their chances of experiencing another massive, schedule-altering outbreak, and the Cowboys might have been exposed to the same fate.

From the start of the season, the NFL’s approach to the COVID-19 pandemic has been arrogant at best, rogue or careless at worst. The league could’ve enforced bubbles and/or stronger protocols from the get-go, which may have enabled it to complete this season in a less comfortable but arguably more legitimate fashion. You know, like the NBA and NHL.

Instead, at least 470 NFL players and employees have tested positive for the novel coronavirus since Aug. 1, according to the players association, and more than a dozen games have already been rescheduled.

There’s little reason to expect that trend to change, as cases continue to skyrocket throughout the United States, which could lead to more complaints from players, coaches, and fans about the unfair nature of the entire 2020 season.

And yet the league is doubling down on an approach that reeks of hubris and could backfire in grim, if not tragic fashion.

About Brad Gagnon

Brad Gagnon has been passionate about both sports and mass media since he was in diapers -- a passion that won't die until he's in them again. Based in Toronto, he's worked as a national NFL blog editor at theScore.com, a producer and writer at theScore Television Network and a host, reporter and play-by-play voice at Rogers TV. His work has also appeared at CBSSports.com, Deadspin, FoxSports.com, The Guardian, The Hockey News and elsewhere at Comeback Media, but his day gig has him covering the NFL nationally for Bleacher Report.