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COVID-19 News & Rumors

Cowboys Place Amari Cooper On Reserve/COVID-19 List

November 19th, 2021 at 2:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

Ahead of a key interconference matchup in Kansas City, Dallas will be without one of its weapons. Amari Cooper landed on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list Friday.

This not only knocks him out for Sunday’s game, but Cooper will miss at least two games because of this development. Cooper tested positive and is unvaccinated, Todd Archer of ESPN.com notes.

Unvaccinated players must isolate for at least 10 days, so this will keep Cooper out of the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving Day game against the Raiders — a matchup that would have been the seventh-year veteran’s first against the team that traded him.

In his fourth season with the Cowboys, Cooper has not missed a game this season. The former top-five pick returned from ankle surgery, which kept him out for most of the Cowboys’ offseason work. The ex-Raiders Pro Bowler, who has since made two Pro Bowls as a Cowboy, has 44 receptions for 583 yards and five touchdowns this season.

Both CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup are healthy going into the Cowboys-Chiefs game, with the latter returning last week after missing half the season with a calf injury. Their statuses are worth monitoring, given their proximity to Cooper.

Extra Points: Cousins, 49ers, USFL, Europe

November 18th, 2021 at 3:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

While Kirk Cousins has been the Vikings’ starter for four years now, his status came up constantly ahead of his 2018 free agency bid. Kyle Shanahan confirmed the 49ers would have been in play for Cousins in 2018 — for what would have been a reunion between he and the QB he coached while Washington’s OC — but San Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo extension preempted such a pursuit. Washington’s head coach at the time, however, believes the 49ers would have coughed up a considerable trade package for Cousins prior to October 2017’s Garoppolo trade. Jay Gruden said Washington could have obtained two first-rounders and perhaps two seconds for Cousins ahead of the 2017 deadline, and the then-WFT HC said — during an appearance on the Kevin Sheehan Show, via the Washington Post’s Jake Russell (Twitter links) — Daniel Snyder and Bruce Allen effectively killed such talks due to not wanting to reunite Shanahan and Cousins.

The 49ers gave up only a second-round pick for Garoppolo, though Cousins was a far more established starter at the time. The 49ers were mentioned in trade rumors regarding Cousins ahead of the 2017 draft, prior to his second Washington franchise tag, but Shanahan has only confirmed the team was planning to go after him in free agency. Gruden suggested Washington still had hopes of re-signing Cousins then; the team walled off this path after trading for Alex Smith in January 2018. Washington has long since moved on, firing Gruden during the 2019 season and Allen at its conclusion, though a notable void still exists for the franchise at QB.

Here is more from around pro football:

  • The XFL is not planning to launch its latest reboot until 2023, but another spring football attempt is in the works. Fox Sports is aiming another effort at establishing the United States Football League and has slated the effort for April, Ben Fischer of the Sports Business Journal reports. The USFL represents the best effort yet of a spring league in America; its ill-fated plan to move to the fall in 1986 led to its demise after three seasons. Fox employees Daryl Johnston and Mike Pereira, along with The Spring League co-founder Brian Woods, are set to be involved with this latest spring effort. Games would be televised primarily on FS1. Details are scarce at this point, but the recent Alliance of American Football and XFL 2.0 forays illustrate the uphill battle spring football presents.
  • The NFL’s push to play a game in Germany is expected to come to fruition by Super Bowl weekend, with Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports noting plans for the league’s future in Germany will become clear by February. The league is set to begin playing games in Germany annually either next season or in 2023, depending on COVID-19 restrictions, JLC adds. This would up the total of international games to at least four — two in London, one in Mexico City and one in a to-be-determined German city. With the NFL having sent more than two games to London in several previous seasons, it is possible the number of international games will surpass four.
  • Additional COVID testing is on tap for the post-Thanksgiving week. The league will require masks for all players, regardless of vaccination status, from Nov. 25-Dec. 1 at team facilities, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. All players and staffers will be tested twice the week following Thanksgiving.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/18/21

November 18th, 2021 at 1:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the day:

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: RB John Kelly

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Kansas City Chiefs

Minnesota Vikings

Pittsburgh Steelers

Trent Brown Considered Retirement After 2020 IV Incident

November 17th, 2021 at 2:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

Trent Brown considered retirement after what he described as a near-death experience last season. An IV mishap before Raiders-Browns game last season led to the then-Las Vegas tackle being hospitalized.

The 380-pound offensive lineman was on track to play last season in Cleveland, after a bout with COVID-19 previously sidelined him. But the hospitalization, compounded with the coronavirus contraction, led to Brown experiencing issues for several months into the offseason.

“To actually fully recover, it probably took about eight months to feel normal again,” Brown said, via NFL.com. “And to actually start making steps, as far as improvement, to feel like myself again on the field after eight months.”

In his second Raiders season, Brown suffered a calf injury in Week 1 — a pattern that recurred this season — and returned on time a month later. But an October COVID-19 contraction sidelined him again. After the IV incident, when air was accidentally introduced into Brown’s bloodstream, the mammoth blocker passed out at a Cleveland hospital. He was shelved — via a second stint on the Raiders’ reserve/COVID-19 list — for another five games after missing the Browns contest on Nov. 1, 2020. Brown spent three days in the hospital before returning to Las Vegas.

“That was different. Coming off of COVID and then just expecting to play a game, and then make it all the way to the city, to the game, to the locker room,” Brown said. “And I’m going through my normal routine, getting an IV, and to just pass out and almost going into cardiac arrest was crazy.

“To kind of come back and play against the Browns [last week], I thought was pretty cool, because I almost died before we played them last year. When I was laid out on the floor, I definitely thought about my kids. I even thought about retiring, honestly. It was that scary. I was about to be done with it. Then after it kind of settled down a bit, I was fine.”

The Raiders traded Brown back to the Patriots in March, but the seventh-year tackle has played fewer than 100 snaps this season. Brown was ready to go by Week 1, but seven snaps into New England’s opener, the first-string right tackle suffered a new calf injury. He did not return until Week 10. Brown did play 69 snaps in the Pats’ win over the Browns upon returning, however.

Although Brown signed a four-year, $66MM deal with the Raiders that ran through the 2022 season, he and the Patriots agreed on a restructure that has the 6-foot-8 lineman on track for free agency in March.

Baker Mayfield Not Expected To Miss Time

November 17th, 2021 at 1:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

Already battling a fractured shoulder, Baker Mayfield left Sunday’s game in New England with a knee injury. The Browns are not likely to need another Case Keenum fill-in start, however.

Neither Mayfield nor Kevin Stefanski expect a second missed start, though the fourth-year quarterback said (via cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, on Twitter) this is probably the most beat up he has been in his football career. Mayfield is not practicing Wednesday.

Mayfield escaped his latest injury without structural damage, suffering a knee contusion in the Browns’ loss to the Patriots. Mayfield’s shoulder issue did require one missed game, a narrow Week 7 win over the Broncos, but he has otherwise played through that issue — one that will almost certainly require offseason surgery. The Browns face the 0-8-1 Lions in Week 11.

As for Mayfield’s backfield, Nick Chubb remains on the Browns’ reserve/COVID-19 list. The Pro Bowl back is vaccinated and can return by submitting negative tests two days apart. Stefanski added Kareem Hunt will not return in Week 11, despite being eligible to do so. The fifth-year back has missed four games with his calf injury but is moving closer to returning. Demetric Felton also remains on Cleveland’s COVID list. The Browns activated running back John Kelly from their virus list.

The Browns have played without both Chubb and Hunt twice this season. D’Ernest Johnson was the last man standing in both games, and the ex-Alliance of American Football performer would start against the Lions if Chubb is not activated by Saturday afternoon. In his third Browns season, Johnson is averaging 5.3 yards per carry.

Vikings Designate Patrick Peterson For Return, Activate Harrison Smith

November 17th, 2021 at 10:48am CST by Sam Robinson

The Vikings have been playing without their secondary anchors for a bit, but both Harrison Smith and Patrick Peterson are on track to suit up again soon.

Minnesota activated Smith from its reserve/COVID-19 list and designated Peterson for return Wednesday. Peterson went on IR with a hamstring injury Oct. 18. Should he return Sunday against the Packers, it will mark a minimum three-game absence for the decorated cornerback. Minnesota has 21 days to activate Peterson.

Smith missed two games after contracting the coronavirus, ending a four-season stretch without a multigame absence. But the five-time Pro Bowl safety will be back in uniform for the Vikings’ pivotal divisional matchup in Week 11. Pro Football Focus has graded Smith as a top-20 safety this season, bestowing such a distinction on offseason addition Xavier Woods as well.

After multiple down years to close his Arizona tenure, Peterson has fared better in Minnesota. The All-Decade corner has allowed a 59% completion rate in coverage, way down from the 67% figure of 2020. The veterans’ returns stand to aid a Vikings pass defense that ranks 14th through nine games.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/16/21

November 16th, 2021 at 5:30pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Jacksonville Jaguars

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/16/21

November 16th, 2021 at 5:19pm CST by Zachary Links

Keeping tabs on the latest taxi squad moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Football Team

Bills Place DT Star Lotulelei On Reserve/COVID-19 List

November 14th, 2021 at 9:52am CST by Rory Parks

Per a team announcement, the Bills have placed DT Star Lotulelei on the reserve/COVID-19 list, thereby rendering him ineligible for today’s game against the Jets. Fellow DT Brandin Bryant has been elevated from the taxi squad to take Lotulelei’s place on the active roster, as Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic tweets.

Lotulelei, who will turn 32 next month, is in the midst of a five-year, $50MM deal he signed in 2018. He exercised his right to opt out of the 2020 season due to COVID concerns, which tolled his contract and keeps him under club control through 2023. He landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list in August, but he returned for Buffalo’s Week 2 win over Miami and has started each of his seven games this season.

Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics have not been high on Lotulelei’s work in some time, and that trend has continued this year. Though his 66.8 pass rush grade is above average — he does have two sacks this year, which matches his 16-game total in 2019 — his overall mark of 53.1 positions him as the 86th-best interior defender out of 124 qualifiers. Still, he typically plays the most snaps in Buffalo’s D-line rotation, so his absence will be noticed.

As Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk observes, it is believed that Lotulelei is unvaccinated. That is because the 2013 first-rounder previously needed to isolate for five days following a close contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19, something that only an unvaccinated player would be required to do.

There is some good news to pass along for Bills fans. As Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets, RB Zack Moss, who suffered a concussion in last week’s loss to the Jaguars, has cleared protocols and will be able to play this afternoon. Moss and Devin Singletary have shared RB duties this year, but Singletary has been the better performer from a YPC perspective. Moss has mustered just 3.6 yards per carry on 65 attempts, while Singletary has posted a strong 4.9 YPC mark on 73 carries.

Moss, however, has been more effective as a receiver out of the backfield, catching 18 balls for 166 yards and a score.

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