Two Saints QBs put on virus list
Both Saints veteran quarterbacks, Taysom Hill and Trevor Siemian, Minnesota star running back Dalvin Cook and Cleveland center JC Tretter, the NFL Players Association president, tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.
But Washington is getting back quarterback Taylor Heinicke, and receiver Tyler Lockett is returning for the Seahawks.
Cook has been following protocols for unvaccinated players, and he’s been ruled out Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, according to offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Alexander Mattison, who missed the previous game with COVID-19, has returned and will take over the lead role in the backfield.
Hill and Siemian were among nine players for New Orleans placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. The others include players like safety Malcolm Jenkins and tackle Jordan Mills, who is expected to start Monday against Miami.
The situation left Ian Book, a rookie out of Notre Dame who has been inactive for all 14 games, as the only active quarterback under contract. It appears Book is in line for his maiden NFL regular-season appearance. Running back Alvin Kamara has been the Saints’ emergency quarterback for several seasons and conceivably could take direct snaps as a wildcat threat.
The latest COVID-19 hit to the Saints came as New Orleans awaits the return of coach Sean Payton, who did not travel to Tampa Bay for the Saints’ victory has worked from home since testing positive for COVID-19 last Thursday. Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has been serving as acting head coach.
Also placed on the COVID-19 list: guard James Carpenter, linebacker Kaden Elliss, safety Jeff Heath, defensive end Jalyn Holmes, and defensive tackle Christian Ringo.
The Browns have been hit hard by a spate of positive tests in the past week and were missing 22 players, including Baker Mayfield as well as coach Kevin Stefanski, for Monday night’s rescheduled game against Las Vegas.
Stefanski returned to the team on Wednesday. Mayfield has yet to produce a required negative test. His 10-day quarantine period ends Saturday, and Mayfield is expected to play against the Packers despite not practicing for two weeks.
No symptoms, no spread, Sills says
The NFL’s chief medical officer says asymptomatic players are not spreading COVID-19 based on his observations during this season.
Allen Sills appeared on the NFL Network on Thursday, and said the league hasn’t “really not seen this phenomenon that people have discussed, which is asymptomatic people in the facility spreading the virus to others.” He added that the key is “symptom recognition and prompt testing.”
Last weekend, the NFL agreed with the NFL Players Association to scale back testing for vaccinated players. The move aligned with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends “diagnostic testing” only for symptomatic or close-contact vaccinated people and “screening tests” only for unvaccinated people.