The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has once again reached out and touched a member of the Dallas Cowboys. This time, however, it will be quite different from when running back Ezekiel Elliott tested positive for the virus in mid-June. Elliott’s diagnosis came before NFL facilities had opened, before teams were gathering to practice. Being definitively linked to COVID then made for a headline, to be sure. But from a practical standpoint, it merely meant a stricter self-isolation than most players were already living under.
Not so now. Cowboys wide receiver Jon’Vea Johnson is the latest to go into quarantine, after being one of a half-dozen players to appear on the league’s new reserve/COVID-19 list on Sunday, as per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Six NFL players have been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, per today’s transaction wire: pic.twitter.com/arAFUvJaAM
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 26, 2020
It is important to note that Johnson’s place on the list does not necessarily mean that he has contracted the coronavirus or even received a positive test.
The Cleveland Browns, with two players on the list, provided this detailed explanation via Twitter:
“This new reserve list category was created for a player who either tests positive for COVID-19 or who has been quarantined after having been in close contact with an infected person or persons. If a player falls into either of these categories, their club is required to immediately place the player on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Per agreed upon NFL-NFLPA policy, clubs are not permitted to comment on player’s medical status other than referring to roster status. Clubs may not disclose whether player is in quarantine or is positive for COVID-19.”
There will certainly be questions, and those questions take on a greater urgency as clubs prepare for the start of the 2020 regular season in less than 50 days. But given the confidentiality rules built in to the league’s COVID-19 policy, Cowboys fans may not learn any more about Johnson’s situation than his placement on the list and his presumptive return to the team at some point.
With veterans set to report to training camp on Tuesday, though, it seems that Johnson’s quarantine will keep the rest of his Cowboys teammates from exposure. The second-year wideout from Toledo “may be activated from the list when he is healthy,” as reported by ESPN.
“Upon reporting, Cowboys veterans will begin a four-day period devoted to COVID-19 tests and virtual meetings,” according to the Dallas Morning News. “On Aug. 1, any player who tested negative in each exam can enter the team headquarters, undergo a physical and be outfitted for equipment.”
Dallas signed Johnson as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He was injured in last year’s preseason finale against Tampa Bay, sending him to injured reserve for the entire 2019 campaign.
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