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Bryant positive for COVID-19, scratched just before kickoff vs. former team

Patrick Smith / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Dez Bryant was set to face his former team in the Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday but was scratched from the game minutes before kickoff after he tested positive for COVID-19.

Bryant's Tuesday morning test came back inconclusive and the club pulled him from the field after a follow-up test came back positive, according to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports.

This incident is the closest the NFL has come to an in-game case of the coronavirus.

Bryant was on the field conducting pre-game warmups before the Ravens scratched him from the game with what the organization called an "illness."

All other Ravens tested negative and it was determined there were no high-risk close contacts to Bryant, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

Bryant was scheduled to go against his former team for the first time. The Cowboys' 2010 first-round pick played in Dallas for eight seasons before the team released him in 2018.

He signed a one-year deal with the New Orleans Saints in November 2018 but tore his Achilles before he could suit up in a game with the franchise.

The 32-year-old signed with Baltimore in October after a year away from the game, appearing in three games and hauling in four catches for 28 yards.

The veteran wideout appears to be done with it all after Tuesday's circumstances.

The Tuesday game was rescheduled from last Thursday after the Ravens dealt with a COVID-19 outbreak last week, resulting in more than 20 players landing on the reserve list.

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