The Buffalo Bills’ total number of players on the NFL’s Reserve/ COVID-19 list is now up to five. On Thursday, the team added rookie seventh-round cornerback Dane Jackson and safety Siran Neal to the list.
Those two join three other Bills currently slapped with that designation: rookie UDFA cornerback Ike Brown, defensive tackle Vincent Taylor, and wide receiver Duke Williams. Also on Thursday, the Bills made some national news with a safety precaution.
The Bills reportedly found out about these added positive tests and told their rookies to go home. The newcomers were scheduled to have in-person meetings throughout the day, but instead they were switched to virtual ones as the number of players on the Reserve/ COVID-19 list for the team continued to climb.
Interestingly, Brown was added to the list earlier this week prior to any of the other four. That’s because rookies report to training camp before veterans. The first task at-hand last week for rookies was a test for COVID-19. Following that first round, Brown’s list appeared on the league’s Reserve/ COVID-19 list.
At first we did not know if Brown tested positive for coronavirus, but it appears to be likely. Being added to the Reserve/ COVID-19 list does not mean a player has coronavirus, they could just have been in contact with someone who does. Because of that, they must quarantine and go on this NFL designation. But along with reporting rookies being sent home on Thursday, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo said that some of these first few tests for the Bills did, in fact, include players who tested positive.
Furthermore, since Brown was the lone Bills rookie mentioned on the first Reserve/ COVID-19 list, that means Jackson must have passed his at the same time. As a fellow rookie, him appearing on the list a few days later means he was first cleared of coronavirus, but then contracted it. There’s a chance he could have in these few days between from another teammate, such as Brown, who’s in the same position group as him.
This could be the exact reasoning the Bills sent everyone home, for fear that the team could have a very quick outbreak of the virus.
In regard to the veterans on this list, Taylor, Neal and Williams, veterans only recently joined training camp on Tuesday. Their start to training camp, like rookies, was to get tested for COVID-19. All three of them could have had their results come about from their initial testing upon entering the team facility, but worth noting, Taylor and Williams landed on the Reserve/ COVID-19 list on Wednesday. Neal, a defensive back like Brown and Jackson, did a day later, which could be another sign of player-to-player spreading.
The Bills are certainly making a smart decision by going home.
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