Tag: close contact

Saints lose most of their RB’s as high-risk close contacts after Alvin Kamara tests positive

The New Orleans Saints will lose most of their running backs room as high-risk close contacts after Alvin Kamara tests positive for COVID-19

[jwplayer LMtXn2ZU-ThvAeFxT]

The hits keep coming for the New Orleans Saints, who won’t have most of their running backs available for Sunday’s regular season finale with the Carolina Panthers. After Alvin Kamara tested positive for COVID-19, several players were ruled out as high-risk close contacts to him: Latavius Murray, Dwayne Washington, and fullback Michael Burton, as well as running backs coach Joel Thomas. None of them will travel with the team for a road game with Carolina.

Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer first reported the absences, which was confirmed by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Kamara is the only confirmed positive case out of the group, so he’s in quarantine away from the team for 10 days (eligible to return Sunday, Jan. 10). If the others continue to test negative, they can return after spending 5 days away from the team (on Tuesday, Jan. 5).

The only running backs the Saints will have available against the Panthers are backup Ty Montgomery and rookie Tony Jones Jr., who will be called up from the practice squad. Montgomery is a former wide receiver and splits time with that position group, so he likely wasn’t around Kamara often enough to be deemed a high-risk close contact.

So at least the Saints will have someone with NFL experience in the backfield, even if Montgomery only has a single rushing attempt this season (which he lost 4 yards on; he’s also caught a pair of passes for 25 yards). He’s averaged 4.6 yards per carry in his 63-game pro career, running 225 times with the Green Bay Packers, Baltimore Ravens, and New York Jets before joining the Saints this year.

As for Jones: the rookie appeared in 37 games at Notre Dame, logging 271 rushing attempts for 1,481 yards (5.5 yards a pop), with a dozen touchdown runs. But this will be his first game of the year, so it’s unclear how heavy a workload he’ll see or what he might be able to do with those opportunities.

Expect some carries for Taysom Hill, too. The Saints will have to get creative to keep their normally-strong ground game intact, even against a vulnerable defense like the Panthers’. They’ve been very diligent in the face of COVID-19’s challenges all year, but things are very close to falling apart at the worst possible time.

[listicle id=42057]

Seahawks add tackle Brandon Shell to injury report as questionable

The Seattle Seahawks added tackle Brandon Shell to the Week 17 injury report after his close contact with someone positive for COVID-19.

The Seattle Seahawks have added right tackle Brandon Shell to Friday’s injury report as questionable to play against the San Francisco 49ers.

Shell, who has been battling an ankle injury for the last month, was actually placed on the report due to close contact with someone positive for COVID-19. He was removed from Friday’s practice to be safe.

Coach Pete Carroll conveyed what he knew after the walkthrough.

“There was a close-contact situation,” Carroll explained. “He’s tested negative and all of that, but we’re just monitoring it to make sure he’s OK, so he wasn’t out today, we didn’t have him on the field today. It’s a developing situation we’ve got to figure out. He’s tested clear, but somebody that he’s worked with hasn’t, outside of the program, so we just got to make sure he’s OK. We don’t know, I don’t know what to tell you about that other than that.”

Carroll was not certain whether or not Shell would need to be placed on the COVID-19 list as a result of his exposure.

This story is continuing to develop.

[lawrence-related id=70431]