More players hit COVID list
Both Saints veteran quarterbacks, Taysom Hill and Trevor Siemian, Vikings star running back Dalvin Cook and Browns center JC Tretter, the NFL Players Association president, tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.
But Washington is getting back quarterback Taylor Heinicke.
Hill and Siemian were among nine players for the Saints placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. The others include such key players as safety Malcolm Jenkins and tackle Jordan Mills, who’s expected to start Monday night against the Dolphins.
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 they await the return of coach Sean Payton, who didn’t travel to Tampa Bay for the Saints’ 9-0 victory over the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers on Sunday night and has worked from home since testing positive for COVID-19 late last week. 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.
Tretter posted on Twitter that he was experiencing symptoms and chose to be tested at the team’s facility in Berea, Ohio.
The Browns have been hit hard by a spate of positive tests in the last week and were missing 22 players, including Baker Mayfield as well as coach Kevin Stefanski, for Monday night’s rescheduled game against the Raiders, which the Browns lost.
On Wednesday, Tretter spoke to reporters for the first time in weeks and discussed the recent challenges for the NFL and players’ union to navigate the uptick in cases due to the omicron variant.
“It has been a trying week or two weeks for everybody,” Tretter said. “This is a new variant. When COVID first happened, we had six months to kind of figure it out and figure out a path forward. In this instance, we had about six days to figure it out.”
Tretter said he had received the vaccine booster, and had chosen to stay away from the facility as the team was conducting meetings virtually. He returned for Thursday’s practice and tested positive shortly before the Browns were scheduled to take the field.
The league relaxed some of its testing policies last week amid the outbreak among the Browns and other teams.
The Browns (7-7), who face the Packers (11-3) in Green Bay on Christmas.
Stefanski returned to the team Wednesday.
Mayfield has yet to produce a required negative test. His 10-day quarantine period ends Saturday, and it’s possible he’ll play against the Packers despite not practicing.