COVID-19 strikes at four franchises
The New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons and Las Vegas Raiders put players on the NFL’s COVID-19 list Tuesday, while Washington had its first instance of someone in the organization testing positive for the coronavirus since the season began.
The NFL said there were 17 new confirmed positives among players and 35 among other personnel during testing from Nov. 8-14. That brings the league’s total to 95 players and 175 other personnel since Aug. 1, not counting new cases this week.
After New York announced an unidentified player tested positive, Giants kicker Graham Gano landed on the reserve/COVID-19 test. Washington also placed injured defensive lineman Matt Ioannidis after announcing a positive test.
The other players put on the list Tuesday were Falcons wide receiver Laquon Treadwell, and Raiders defensive end Clelin Ferrell and defensive back Lamarcus Joyner.
Gano is the second Giants player in three weeks to go on the COVID-19 list after guard Will Hernandez on Oct. 29, who was activated Nov. 10 and played Sunday against Philadelphia. The Giants, who have a bye this week, said two staff members were told to remain home after coming into contact with the player who tested positive.
Treadwell is the second Atlanta player on the COVID-19 list, joining defensive end Dante Fowler Jr., who was put on it last week. Treadwell has spent the past 10 weeks on the practice squad.
The Raiders put Ferrell and Joyner on the list Tuesday, joining linebacker Cory Littleton, who tested positive last week, and right tackle Trent Brown, who tested positive last month.
All-Black crew to officiate game
The NFL will have an all-Black officiating crew for the first time in league history when the Rams play the Buccaneers on Monday night.
The crew consists of: referee Jerome Boger, umpire Barry Anderson, down judge Julian Mapp, line judge Carl Johnson, side judge Dale Shaw, field judge Anthony Jeffries and back judge Greg Steed.
Five members of the crew work together regularly. Johnson and Steed will join the group for this game. The crew has a combined 89 seasons in the league and has worked six Super Bowls.
The league has assigned crews based on geography this season to limit travel due to the coronavirus pandemic. Crew assignment guidelines have also been relaxed to assign officials to games closer to their homes when feasible.
The first Black official in any major sport was Burt Toler, hired by the NFL in 1965.
QB Foles avoids serious injury
A hip and glute injury to Bears quarterback Nick Foles doesn’t seem as serious as it appeared when he was taken from the field on a cart near the end of Monday night’s loss to the Vikings, and it’s possible one of the Bears’ two injured quarterbacks could be available in two weeks when they come off a bye weekend to face the Packers at Lambeau Field.
Mitchell Trubisky had been benched during the third Bears game in favor of Foles, then two weeks ago suffered a right shoulder injury running the ball on his only play since the injury. On Monday night, coach Matt Nagy expressed only uncertainty over Trubisky’s availability if Foles can’t play.
Odds and ends
Packers receiver Allen Lazard was activated from injured reserve after missing six games. … The Bengals waived defensive end Takk McKinley less than a week after claiming him off waivers from the Falcons. The team said he failed a physical.