Bruce Arians activated from COVID list, will coach Sunday vs. Jets
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have head coach Bruce Arians on the sideline in Week 17 after he was activated Saturday from the COVID/Reserve List.
Arians, 69, began isolation Tuesday after testing positive for COVID-19. Run game coordinator Harold Goodwin was Tampa Bay’s interim head coach for most of the week and was set to coach Sunday against the New York Jets in the event that Arians wasn’t cleared to return.
The Buccaneers have already clinched the NFC South and are in a tight battle with a handful of teams for the top seeds in the NFC. Tampa Bay currently sits in the fourth seed, despite being just one game behind the Green Bay Packers for the best record in the conference. The Buccaneers have the same record as the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams, but are on the losing end of a three-way tiebreaker.
In addition to Arians being activated ahead of Week 17, the Buccaneers also pulled cornerbacks Jamel Dean and Sean Murphy-Bunting from the COVID/Reserve List on Saturday. Both will be eligible to play against the Jets if they’re cleared Sunday morning.
