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COVID-19 News & Rumors

Myles Garrett Tests Positive For COVID-19

November 21st, 2020 at 2:01pm CST by Zachary Links

Browns defensive end Myles Garrett has been placed on the COVID-19 reserve list, per a club announcement. Garrett did not practice this week due to an undisclosed illness, and Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com notes the fourth-year pass rusher has indeed tested positive for the coronavirus. 

The Browns will be without Garrett for this week’s game against the Eagles, at minimum. The former No. 1 overall pick is now in jeopardy of missing Week 12’s Jaguars game as well.

Garrett currently leads the league with 9.5 sacks and his presence will be missed as they look to advance to 7-3 in a sardine-packed AFC North. The former Texas A&M star joins tackle Jack Conklin, fullback Andy Janovich, kicker Cody Parkey, and tackle Chris Hubbard on the Browns’ reserve list. On the plus side, “zero high-risk contacts have been identified” in connection to Garrett, per the team’s press release.

The Browns gave Garrett a record-breaking extension in July and, so far, he’s done his part to live up to the deal. While he leads the NFL with 9.5 sacks, the rest of the Browns’ D has just 12.5 sacks combined. While he isolates, the Browns will need the rest of the front seven to step things up and keep the pressure on.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/20/20

November 20th, 2020 at 5:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Friday’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: OL Lachavious Simmons

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Jets

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: RB T.J. Logan; Logan remains on IR

Trent Williams, Brandon Aiyuk Back On 49ers’ Reserve/COVID-19 List

November 20th, 2020 at 3:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 49ers have now placed seven players on their reserve/COVID-19 list this week. Two of those — Trent Williams and Brandon Aiyuk — are on the list for a second time.

Williams, Aiyuk and tight end Daniel Helm landed on San Francisco’s coronavirus list Friday. They join Arik Armstead, Javon Kinlaw, center Hroniss Grasu and linebacker Joe Walker.

Aiyuk and Williams each missed San Francisco’s Week 9 game against Green Bay but returned for the team’s trip to New Orleans last week. The 49ers are on a bye this week, but their COVID situation certainly warrants monitoring.

Players who come in contact with a person who has tested positive for the virus land on reserve/COVID-19 lists. They must isolate for five days. Friday’s news does not mandate Aiyuk or Williams miss the 49ers’ Week 12 contest, against the Rams, but they would be in line to miss that game if they tested positive. It is not yet known if that is the case. But with seven players on the COVID list, the 49ers do have a bit of an issue during their week off.

COVID-19 Latest: Bubble, Bengals, Dalton

November 20th, 2020 at 3:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

With the NFL passing an in-case-of-emergency amended playoff bracket and having a tentative Week 18 in place in case games need to be rescheduled, the league is planning ahead. Its months-long anti-bubble stance remains, but the prospect of one taking place in the postseason has not been ruled out. The NFL will consider holding conference championship games at neutral-site bubbles, according to Mark Maske of the Washington Post. Like the 16-team bracket, this would be a contingency plan. Should the NFL proceed with bubbles for its penultimate postseason round, Maske notes warm-weather cities would be the likely sites.

Here is the latest on the NFL’s navigation of the coronavirus pandemic:

  • As cases spike nationally, the NFL has seen a significant uptick as well this month. Forty-seven percent of the league’s positive coronavirus tests this season came during November’s first two weeks, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones notes. As such, the NFL is bracing for more COVID-related trouble after Thanksgiving. The league expects cases to surge after the holiday, with high-ranking execs informing Jones the bulk of its cases thus far this season occurred because of in-home gatherings. No games have been rescheduled since Week 7, but given the protocol adjustments and postseason contingency plan, the league appears to be preparing for postponements to re-emerge.
  • Beginning Saturday, all NFL teams will be thrust into the intensive COVID-19 protocol. The recently implemented higher-security format will be the new norm, per NFL.com’s Judy Battista. Positive tests were previously necessary to move teams into the intensive protocol — which calls for all meetings to be held virtually, masks to be worn at all times at team facilities and no player congregation to occur outside of teams’ headquarters — but the league’s Thanksgiving-related concerns have prompted precautions.
  • The Bengals were without four coaches during their Week 10 game against the Steelers and will be without three staffers this weekend as well. Cincinnati cornerbacks coach Steve Jackson, wide receivers coach Bob Bicknell and safeties coach Robert Livingston will not be with the team in Washington due to COVID-19 protocols, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Last week, the Bengals were without Jackson, Bicknell, linebackers coach Al Golden and senior defensive assistant Mark Duffner. Bengals DC Lou Anarumo will assume more responsibility this weekend, per the team, in overseeing the team’s defensive backs.
  • Former Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton will be back in the Cowboys‘ starting lineup this week, but he has not yet fully recovered from the coronavirus. The 10th-year veteran developed symptoms and has not fully regained his taste and smell senses, via Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). Dalton’s wife and one of his sons also contracted the virus. The Cowboys activated Dalton from their reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday.

Three Giants Test Positive For COVID-19

November 20th, 2020 at 1:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although the Giants are not scheduled to play again until Week 12, they have run into a COVID-19 issue. Following Graham Gano‘s coronavirus contraction, three more Giants players have submitted positive tests.

Rookie tackle Matt Peart, tight end Kaden Smith and recently added wide receiver Dante Pettis tested positive for COVID, according to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY. They will join Gano, punter Riley Dixon and long snapper Casey Kreiter on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list.

While none of Friday’s cases have affected high-profile Giants players, four positive tests certainly is a concern for the team. The Giants said in a statement they learned of the tests Thursday night; contact tracing is underway. No Giants have been at the team’s facility this week. Gano’s positive test Monday nixed plans for any in-person meetings or light workouts, per Vacchiano.

Players who test positive must remain away from teams’ facilities for 10 days, so Friday’s news will shelve the three latest positive testers for the Giants’ Nov. 29 game against the Bengals. The Giants played without guard starter Will Hernandez in two games earlier this month because of his positive test.

A third-round pick viewed as a developmental tackle, Peart has mixed in on offense since his Week 6 start. The UConn product has played 64 offensive snaps over the past four games, rotating in with starting right tackle Cameron Fleming. Used as a blocking tight end alongside Evan Engram, Smith has started nine games this season and played 48% of Big Blue’s offensive snaps. Pettis, claimed off waivers earlier this month, has yet to make his Giants debut.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/19/20

November 19th, 2020 at 5:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the most recent NFL minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Placed on IR: CB C.J. Henderson

Kansas City Chiefs

Minnesota Vikings

  • Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: FB C.J. Ham

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

NFL Not Eyeing 16-Team Playoffs Beyond 2020

November 19th, 2020 at 5:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

While Major League Baseball has drawn scrutiny for potential plans at a major postseason expansion next season, the NFL has no interest in moving beyond its new 14-team bracket.

The league approved a proposal to increase its 2020 playoff field to 16 teams, in the event COVID-19 prevents all 256 regular-season games from being played. But even that in-case-of-emergency plan encountered major dissenting voices among owners, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports notes. This, and some opposition to the new CBA’s 14-team playoff field in league circles, points to the NFL not eyeing a future when half its teams make the playoffs annually.

Strong opposition emerged at this contingency-plan 16-team bracket, per JLC, and those dissenters made it known this will not be a precursor to future NFL postseasons. The NFL ended its 30-year run with a 12-team bracket — its most stable postseason, after eight- and 12-season periods with eight- and 10-team fields, respectively — last season and will collect additional revenue from the two extra playoff games this new 14-team playoff produces. That TV revenue will be critical ahead of 2021’s expected salary cap reduction.

When the NFL green-lit the 12-team field for the 1990 season, the league housed 28 teams. That meant 42.9% of its teams made the playoffs; the 14-team format will invite 43.8% of the NFL’s teams to the postseason. The NFL has not been forced to cancel a game due to the coronavirus this season, but the league has changed several teams’ schedules. The first contingency plan remains for a makeshift Week 18 to serve as an if-necessary makeup window. The 16-team postseason bracket is Plan C.

J.J. Arcega-Whiteside Tests Positive For COVID-19

November 19th, 2020 at 3:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

J.J. Arcega-Whiteside will be away from the Eagles for a while after testing positive for COVID-19, Geoff Mosher and Adam Caplan of InsidetheBirds.com report (via Twitter).

Because of contact tracing, the Eagles also placed Vinny Curry, Corey Clement and wide receiver Deontay Burnett on their reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday.

Clement and Curry landed on the list because they came in contact with someone who contracted the coronavirus, but NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes their placements on the list did not stem from Arcega-Whiteside’s positive test (Twitter link). Curry and Clement have continued to test negative, and ESPN.com’s Tim McManus indicates (via Twitter) each player landed on the virus list because they were close contacts of two different individuals.

While Arcega-Whiteside is guaranteed to miss Sunday’s game, his affected teammates’ respective statuses will come down to when their last contact with an infected person occurred. Players who land on the reserve/COVID list must isolate for five days, but players have been placed on a COVID list on a Thursday and returned to play the following Sunday. Kyle Van Noy did so last week.

Holdovers from the Eagles’ Super Bowl LII-winning team, Curry and Clement serve as key rotational players for Philadelphia. Arcega-Whiteside has not been able to break through despite his second-round pedigree. He has just 12 career catches, including two this season for an again-injury-ravaged Eagles receiving corps.

AFC West Notes: Broncos, Brown, Chiefs

November 18th, 2020 at 7:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

Broncos defensive coordinator Ed Donatell required hospitalization after contracting the coronavirus, according to the team. The second-year Denver DC was hospitalized last week but discharged Sunday, Mike Klis of 9News tweets. He remains away from the team, recovering at home. Donatell, 63, has been battling COVID-19 symptoms since Oct. 31 and has missed the past three games. Donatell, who is in his third stint with the franchise, one of a few Broncos staffers to have contracted the virus. Running backs coach Curtis Modkins did so in October, and offensive line coach Mike Munchak was in the team’s COVID protocol. GM John Elway and team president Joe Ellis tested positive for the virus. Elway announced he has recovered, while Ellis has been in quarantine for nearly three weeks and has yet to be cleared to return, Klis notes.

Here is the latest from the AFC West:

  • The NFL has expressed “serious concern” about the outbreak among Broncos staffers, according to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora. The league and the NFLPA have continued to stress the importance of non-players adhering to the evolving COVID-19 protocols, per JLC.
  • The Raiders have been the league’s chief culprits at violating the NFL’s coronavirus policies, and their latest issue — Clelin Ferrell‘s positive test causing half the team’s starting defense to land on the reserve/COVID-19 list — could conceivably prompt the NFL to move another Las Vegas Sunday-night tilt off of primetime. As of Wednesday evening, however, the league has no plans to change the start time for Week 11’s Raiders-Chiefs rematch, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The NFL moved Week 7’s Buccaneers-Raiders game to a Sunday-afternoon window after Trent Brown‘s positive test caused Las Vegas’ starting O-line to miss a week’s worth of workouts.
  • Speaking of Brown, the mammoth right tackle remains on the Raiders’ COVID list. However, a hope exists Brown can receive clearance to resume workouts next week, Schefter tweets. Brown is naturally at higher risk of developing severe symptoms from the virus compared to most players, due to his weight (380 pounds), but he wants to play again this season. The Raiders have placed Brown on their virus list twice this year, the second time due to a pregame issue in Cleveland resulting in the 27-year-old blocker being hospitalized.
  • While Justin Simmons has not made an issue of his contract since he and the Broncos failed to come to an extension agreement in July, he would prefer to stay with the team, per the Denver Post’s Ryan O’Halloran. The floor for the standout safety will likely be $14MM per year on a long-term deal, with five safeties signing deals worth $14MM AAV or more since March 2019. Simmons has played every snap for the Broncos this season and ranks as Pro Football Focus’ fourth-highest-graded safety, a year after he landed second on PFF’s list. Citing the pandemic, Simmons said, via O’Halloran, he is grateful for his setup (an $11.4MM franchise tag salary). This comes after he expressed disappointment no deal emerged this summer. If the Broncos tag Simmons again, he would be entitled to a $13.7MM 2021 salary.
  • Former Simmons secondary mate Chris Harris will return to action soon. The Chargers designated the All-Decade cornerback to return from IR on Wednesday. The team has three weeks to activate him. Harris, who signed a two-year deal worth $17.5MM in March, has been out since Week 2 because of a foot injury.
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