Bears’ Fields joins host of new names on COVID-19 list
The Chicago Bears placed quarterback Justin Fields on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Thursday, likely sidelining him for the finale and ending his rookie season.
The Bears expected Fields to start at Minnesota on Sunday after missing the previous two games because of an ankle injury.
Chicago is 2-8 in the games he has started, dropping seven straight with him in the lineup since wins over Detroit and Las Vegas in Weeks 4 and 5.
The Bears (6-10) won their past two games, beating the Seattle Seahawks and New York Giants with Nick Foles and Andy Dalton starting, after losing eight of nine. Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor would not say who would start in Fields’ place against Minnesota.
A day after Dallas Cowboys rookie Micah Parsons went on the reserve/COVID-19 list, the team added tackle Tyron
Smith and cornerback Anthony Brown to the list going into Saturday’s game in Philadelphia against the Eagles.
Cincinnati placed defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi on the reserve/COVID-19 list. He has a career-high seven sacks in his first season with the Bengals after spending his first four in Cleveland. Earlier in the week, the Bengals placed running back Joe Mixon, defensive tackle B.J. Hill, safety Vonn Bell, defensive end Trey Hendrickson, center Trey Hopkins and left guard Quinton Spain on the COVID-19 list.
The Indianapolis Colts placed safety Andrew Sendejo on the COVID-19 list, leaving them without a key defender as they try to clinch a playoff spot at Jacksonville. Sendejo has started 10 of the 12 games he has played. He has missed the past two after entering concussion protocols.
Buccaneers cut Brown: Tampa Bay has officially severed ties with Antonio Brown, terminating the contract of the mercurial receiver who claimed he was fired in the middle of a game for not playing through an ankle injury.
Brown removed his jersey, shoulder pads, undershirt and gloves, then left the field in Sunday’s victory over the Jets after a sideline exchange with coach Bruce Arians, who said afterward that the player was no longer part of the team.
“We have attempted, multiple times throughout this week, to schedule an evaluation by an outside orthopedic specialist, yet Antonio has not complied,” the statement added. “Maintaining the health and wellness of our players is of the utmost importance to our organization.”
Watt nears record: T.J. Watt, who was voted the Steelers’ most valuable player Thursday, will take aim at the NFL’s single-season sack record and try to help Pittsburgh into the playoffs during the regularseason finale on Sunday at Baltimore.
Watt needs 11⁄2 sacks to break Hall of Famer Michael Strahan’s single-season mark of 221⁄2, set in 2001.
Although Strahan played a 16-game schedule and Watt gets one more game, he has missed significant time with groin, hip and knee injuries. Watt has started 14 of 16 games and left several others early this season.
Watt, who had a career-best four sacks Monday against Cleveland, is the 12th player to reach 20 sacks in a season since 1982, when the individual sack became an official NFL statistic.