Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians cleared to return vs. Jets after testing positive for COVID

Bruce Arians will be on the sidelines this week after all.

Arians, after testing positive for COVID-19, cleared protocols on Saturday and will coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday against the New York Jets, the team announced.

Wide receivers coach Kevin Garver also cleared protocols Saturday and will be with the team in New Jersey. Assistant head coach and run game coordinator Harold Goodwin was leading the team in practice this week in Arians’ absence.

Arians announced on Tuesday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus and was experiencing mild symptoms. The 69-year-old is fully vaccinated, something that likely helped his fast return after testing positive. Arians is a three-time cancer survivor, most recently in 2017 when he was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma and had to have part of his kidney removed. He also beat prostate cancer and skin cancer.

Along with Arians and Garver, the Buccaneers activated cornerbacks Jamel Dean and Sean Murphy-Bunting from their reserve/COVID-19 list on Saturday. The two are listed as questionable for their game against the Jets. Receiver Mike Evans was activated off the list on Friday, but is questionable with a hamstring injury.

The Buccaneers head into Sunday — where they’re listed as -13.5 point favorites on BetMGM — having won five of their last six games. They are just one game back from the Green Bay Packers, who currently hold the top spot in the NFC, but are tied with both the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams.