Jackson gets placed on COVID-19 list
QB is among 12 found there as team preps for Steelers
The Ravens on Friday placed quarterback Lamar Jackson on the reserve/ COVID-19 list, ruling him out for Tuesday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The team also placed fullback Patrick Ricard, rookie defensive tackle Justin Madubuike and long snapper Morgan Cox on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
According to an NFL Network report, Jackson’s positive test came from Thursday’s round of testing. Under the 10-day self-quarantine window for players who test positive, Jackson would likely be able to return to practice ahead of the team’s Week 13 game against the Dallas Cowboys, which the NFL moved from Thursday, Dec. 3 to Monday, Dec. 7.
To date, the Ravens have placed 12 players on the reserve/COVID-19 list this week. At least seven Ravens starters from the teams’ first meeting on Nov. 1, a 28-24 Steelers win at M&T Bank Stadium, are not expected to play and another handful of contributors will be sidelined.
Without Jackson and third- string quarterback Trace McSorley, who landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Nov. 20, the only remaining quarterback on the 53-man roster is backup Robert Griffin III. Tyler Huntley, an undrafted rookie, will likely be elevated to the active roster.
The Ravens don’t have a traditional replacement for Ricard, one of the remaining true fullbacks in the NFL and a key cog in the team’s run-oriented scheme. Undrafted rookie Ty’Son Williams is likely to be elevated to the active roster with Ricard joining backs Mark Ingram II and J.K. Dobbins, who tested positive Monday, on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Madubuike had become a key player on the defensive line in recent weeks after Calais Campbell and Brandon Williams suffered lower-leg injuries. Both Campbell and Williams are now on the reserve/ COVID-19 list; Campbell on Friday confirmed he tested positive, while Williams landed on the list for the second time this season as a “high-risk” close contact.
Williams could be activated off the list this weekend after completing a five-day self-quarantine, but it is unclear whether he would be healthy enough to play
Tuesday. Practice squad lineman Aaron Crawford is likely to be elevated to the active roster.
The Ravens have a replacement for Cox in practice squad long snapper Nick Moore, whom the team protected every week of the season up until Week 12.
The Steelers on Friday placed three players on the reserve/COVID-19 list: defensive end Stephon Tuitt, defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs and offensive lineman Jerald Hawkins. None of the three players who landed on the list will be eligible to play Tuesday, whether he falls under the
five-day self-quarantine window as a close contact or the 10-day self-quarantine window for testing positive.
Tuitt, one of the best defensive linemen in the league, recorded two sacks and three quarterback hits in the teams’ first meeting.