Titans’ Kevin Byard taking media criticism of coronavirus handling as motivation

The Tennessee Titans have received criticism in some circles for the team’s handling of its coronavirus outbreak, and at least one player is taking notes.

Titans safety Kevin Byard said he has been paying attention to what the media is saying about the team, and will be using it as motivation.

“I’ve been sitting at the house watching stuff from the media saying things about the team,” Byard said, via Turron Davenport of ESPN. “We know we are still in a pandemic. Obviously the protocols that we and the league have are not foolproof but they are supposed to mitigate the risks that we have. To see a lot of the comments that I’ve seen around the league, I took note of that. It’s definitely going to motivate me for sure to let the guys know what people have been saying about us as a team. At the end of the day we are 3-0 and we’re trying to go 4-0 this week.”

Much of the criticism comes from reports that Titans players worked out together in person after players had tested positive and the NFL had warned against such things. That is being investigated by the NFL, and if it did happen, the players are definitely in the wrong.

There was some talk that the Titans might have to forfeit a game for violating the league’s safety protocols. That doesn’t look likely now, but some of the criticism of the Titans was definitely deserved.