Tag: reserve/COVID-19 list

Ravens activate OLB Jaylon Ferguson from Reserve/COVID-19 list

The Ravens activated outside linebacker Jaylon Ferguson from the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Wednesday

The Baltimore Ravens have put together a strong start to the 2021 season, accumulating a 4-1 record despite dealing with a plethora of absences due to injuries and other reasons. One of the players forced to miss games is outside linebacker Jaylon Ferguson, who has been on the Reserve/COVID-19 list since Week 3.

On Wednesday, the team announced that they activated Ferguson from the Reserve/COVID-19 list and that he would begin to practice again ahead of the team’s Week 6 matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Ferguson was placed on the list leading up to the Ravens’ Week 3 matchup with the Detroit Lions. The third-year defensive end has missed team practices and three straight games since September 24th. In two games played this season, Ferguson has two combined tackles on 11 defensive snaps.

The Ravens have a tough matchup against Los Angeles on Sunday. The Chargers have averaged 108.4 rushing yards and 303 passing yards per game. Ferguson will give Baltimore an added defensive boost to get into the backfield of such an explosive offense.

Ravens lose 4 key defenders to COVID-19 list

Baltimore has allowed more passing yards through the first two weeks than any other team and over 200 more yards through the air than the Lions did in Weeks 1-2.

Sunday’s matchup in Ford Field between the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens just got a little more interesting. The Ravens will not bring four key defensive players, including three starters in the front seven.

Nose tackle Brandon Williams, defensive tackle Justin Madubuike and EDGEs Justin Houston and Jaylon Ferguson are all on the reserve/COVID-19 list and will not play in Week 3. Williams, Madubuike and Houston all start, and Ferguson is Houston’s primary backup.

Ferguson reportedly tested positive and the others are all deemed close contacts. Because they are on the reserve list, it means the other players are not vaccinated.

Houston was responsible for one of the Ravens’ three sacks on the season and the veteran was also playing well against the run. It’s a severe stress to the Ravens’ defensive depth. Remember, Baltimore has allowed more passing yards through the first two weeks than any other team and over 200 more yards through the air than the Lions did in Weeks 1-2.

Report: Cowboys LB Keanu Neal placed on Reserve/COVID list

The safety-turned linebacker took over 70% of the Cowboys’ defensive snaps in Weeks both 1 and 2; his status for Week 3 is up in the air. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The toughest opponent the Cowboys have faced so far in 2021 seems to be the Reserve/COVID list. The team has placed another player on the watchlist, leaving his status for Monday night’s home opener against the Eagles in serious doubt.

Linebacker Keanu Neal is entering the protocol, according to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News. That news comes the same day that defensive end Randy Gregory rejoins the team after missing Week 2’s game in Los Angeles.

Gregory is expected to play Monday night. Neal’s availability is not yet known.

The veteran in his sixth pro season (but his first in Dallas) has logged six solo tackles over the team’s first two games. A former safety under Dan Quinn in Atlanta, Neal made the switch to linebacker this offseason upon reuniting with Quinn in Dallas.

Neal played nearly 77% of the team’s defensive snaps against Tampa in Week 1. Against the Chargers, he was on the field for almost 72%.

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Cowboys WR Noah Brown activated from COVID list, eligible for Week 1

Noah Brown is back on the active roster for the season opener in Tampa, but the WR and special teams player hasn’t practiced in over a week. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The Cowboys removed a name from the Reserve/COVID list on Wednesday. Just not the name that’s had the fanbase in a complete twist and spurned visions of the team jetting one player by himself to Tampa and chartering a limo with police escort to the Big Pirate Ship so he can make a dramatic run out from the tunnel just as the 2021 season officially kicks off.

All-Pro right guard Zack Martin remains in COVID protocol… but wide receiver Noah Brown is back, fully activated, and eligible to play Thursday night versus the Buccaneers.

Listed on the depth chart as the backup to starting wideout Amari Cooper, Brown also plays a key role on special teams. The former seventh-round draft pick out of Ohio State logged 14 receptions for 154 receiving yards in 2020 (both career bests). More crucially, he was on the field for 47% of the year’s special teams snaps for John Fassel’s unit, the most of any Cowboys offensive player.

The team had been holding an open spot on the 53-man roster for Brown, so no one needed to be demoted or let go for his return. While he could technically take the field Thursday, Brown hasn’t practiced since being placed in protocol August 31st.

Martin, meanwhile, is looking like less of a possibility with each passing hour. It was already a long shot that the six-time Pro Bowler would make the trip to Florida’s Gulf Coast as he awaits two negative COVID tests, but Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones didn’t do anything to stoke the fire on Dallas radio Wednesday.

Offensive lineman Brandon Knight also remains on the COVID watchlist, but apparently has a good chance to play in the season opener. He was classified as a “close contact” and has not reportedly experienced any symptoms.

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News: COVID comeback hits Cowboys, threatens schedule; punter re-signed

Zack Martin is out amid growing concern that COVID will have a serious impact on the 2021 season; Tampa Bay prep, La’el Collins returns. | From @ToddBrock24f7

During a weekend when college football stadiums were back to maximum capacity for the first time in nearly two years, the ongoing COVID pandemic is suddenly the main story in the NFL just four days before opening night of its season. Connor Williams comes off the watchlist for Dallas just as Zack Martin tests positive for the virus and CeeDee Lamb talks about the symptoms he experienced. Tom Brady reveals he had the virus and believes it will affect the NFL even more this year than last. The fans will be back in full force around the league… but will there be a full 272 games played this year? It suddenly feels iffy.

Also in the news, La’el Collins returns from his neck stinger just in time for Tampa, two of the Cowboys’ biggest stars are eager to finally be unleashed against the Bucs, and the team is still tinkering with the roster by officially re-signing their punter. Uniform news: another batch of new jersey numbers for several Cowboys, and could today’s traditional football helmets be replaced by soft shells in an effort to improve player safety? Plus, get to know the Cowboys’ defensive backs with a new batch of player profiles. That’s all ahead in the News and Notes.

La’el Collins, Connor Williams back at Cowboys practice as O-line shuffle continues

The return of two offensive linemen comes at a key moment, just as Dallas loses All-Pro Zack Martin for the Week 1 opener versus Tampa Bay. | From @ToddBrock24f7

One of the few things Cowboys fans were able to count on in 2020 was not being able to count on knowing who would play where along the offensive line. The team went through 15 unique combinations up front before the Thanksgiving Day game even kicked off.

Getting the front five back was one of the major storylines in Dallas this offseason, but now there’s already a script change as Zack Martin’s positive COVID test almost certainly takes him out of the season opener in Tampa. But the team did get some good news on the O-line, as La’el Collins and Connor Williams returned to practice on Sunday.

Collins, of course, missed the entire 2020 season with surgery meant to correct a nagging hip issue. Supposedly back in full force this year and looking noticeably leaner after a grueling rehab, the 28-year-old tackle talked openly about having plenty “left in the tank” for the upcoming campaign.

But the LSU product left practice early on August 18th with a neck stinger. He came back the following day and even played in the preseason loss to Houston two days after that. Another neck stinger on August 27th, though, forced him off the practice field once again.

As recently as Friday, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy was using terms like “holding pattern” in describing Collins’s playing status. But his return to practice just 96 hours before a visit to the defending Super Bowl champs bodes well for his chances to hold down the fort at right tackle.

Connor Williams rejoins the team, too, having just been activated off the Reserve/COVID list, where he had been since testing positive for the virus August 25th.

The other Connor, guard Connor McGovern, will likely draw the straw of stepping into Martin’s spot Thursday night against the likes of Buccaneers defensive linemen Vita Vea and Ndamakong Suh.

“We will continue to work the combinations, but Connor McGovern will take the majority of the reps at right guard,” McCarthy said regarding the team’s Sunday practice session.

Working the combinations. Expect the Cowboys to fall into a very well-practiced routine of shuffling players along the line in the days leading up to Thursday’s game and perhaps even moving puzzle pieces around during the Week 1 contest.

“I mean, this is the climate that we’re in,” McCarthy said recently as the COVID numbers in the Dallas locker room climbed. “The great thing is we have experience at it.”

That, they do.

The Cowboys had hoped, though, that they wouldn’t have to fall back on that experience for the very first game of the season.

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Report: CeeDee Lamb among 4 Cowboys back to work from COVID list

CeeDee Lamb, Damontae Kazee, Carlos Watkins, and DC Dan Quinn are all back in action with one week to go before the 2021 season opener. | From @ToddBrock24f7

With one week to go before the season opener, the Cowboys are getting several key pieces of the puzzle back on the table. The team’s late-preseason additions to the Reserve/COVID list have substantially impacted only two preseason games and a handful of practices and meetings thus far, but there had been concern with every passing day over whether those names on the list would be back in action in time to play September 9th against the defending Super Bowl champs.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram‘s Clarence Hill Jr. is reporting that wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, safety Damontae Kazee, and defensive tackle Carlos Watkins will likely be activated from the COVID watchlist on Thursday and return to practice with the team.

Offensive lineman Connor Williams remains on the list, as does wide receiver Noah Brown.

Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn had also been under COVID-19 protocol after testing positive for the virus. He missed the club’s last two preseason games and was participating only virtually in team meetings. ESPN’s Ed Werder announced that Quinn was also back at work as of Wednesday evening.

Having players on the Reserve/COVID list technically meant that the Cowboys were able to do a little fudging on Tuesday’s deadline for roster cuts, as players under COVID protocol do not count toward the official 53-man roster. But for each player now activated off of that list, the team will be required to make a corresponding move with someone else.

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News: Some Cowboys still on roster bubble, another COVID add, considering Cam?

Several will have survived “final” cuts only temporarily to make room for returning COVID players; will the Saints use Cowboys’ home field? | From @ToddBrock24f7

Cowboys fans ended their Tuesday night with another episode of the reality series Hard Knocks, but several players lived it in true living color just hours earlier. So-called “final” roster cuts were the big story of the day, with two dozen players either released or waived. Some were axed only as a technicality and will be back within days; others made it onto the 53-man roster only as a temporary stay. We’re analyzing every move at every position as the true 2021 roster continues to take shape.

Within that, several interesting subplots. What- if anything at all- should Cam Newton’s release by the Patriots mean for the Cowboys’ backup quarterback situation? Which injured Cowboys will have to give up their roster spots to players coming off the COVID watchlist? And who just got put on that list?  The ’21 draft class continues an impressive streak in Dallas, an undrafted reality show winner gets the leading-man treatment in the incredible true story of his life, the Cowboys’ next big defensive star hooks up with one of the club’s past greats, our player profiles focus on the rising secondary, and Dez Bryant makes another clutch catch. That’s all on tap in this edition of News and Notes.

Cowboys safeties Malik Hooker, Israel Mukuamu back at practice after COVID list

Veteran safety Malik Hooker is the second player to come off the Cowboys’ COVID watchlist in recent days; Israel Mukuamu returned midweek. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The Cowboys get another player back. Safety Malik Hooker has been activated from the Reserve/COVID list and is eligible to join the rest of the team for practice on Friday.

The veteran is the second member of the Dallas secondary to come off the COVID watchlist in recent days; rookie Israel Mukuamu rejoined the unit midweek. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, defensive tackle Carlos Watkins, offensive lineman Connor Williams, and safety Damontae Kazee remain in the COVID protocol, as does defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.

Quinn has been in virtual communication with the team all week after being pulled from AT&T Stadium shortly before last Saturday night’s preseason kickoff versus Houston. He said on Thursday that he was “feeling fine” and was waiting on two negative tests within a 24-hour period in order to return to his duties, possibly in time for Sunday’s exhibition with Jacksonville.

Quinn attributes his “mild” case of COVID to having been fully vaccinated. Hooker had also received both does of the vaccine.

Mukuamu was still in the waiting period following his second shot when he was identified as a close contact.

Hooker and Mukuamu have rejoined the roster at a key moment, with final cuts coming next week. The Cowboys must get from 79 players to 53 by August 31st, and both are part of a crowded secondary, with several players fighting for a job at the safety position.

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Damontae Kazee and Connor Williams test positive; placed on Cowboys’ COVID list

The list of Cowboys players on the COVID watchlist is now at six; four have tested positive, including S Damontae Kazee and OL Connor Williams. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Rosters across the NFL are bring trimmed little by little as the regular season quickly approaches. But in Dallas, a different list of players is simultaneously growing with every day. Head coach Mike McCarthy began his Wednesday press conference with a stark announcement.

“We have two players that will be on [the] COVID testing positive list today,” McCarthy told reporters. “[Damontae] Kazee has tested positive, and Connor Williams.”

Kazee was instructed to stay away from the team facility on Tuesday; now the safety has tested positive for the virus. He will officially be placed on the Cowboys’ COVID/Reserve list, joining defensive tackle Carlos Watkins, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, and fellow safeties Malik Hooker and Israel Mukuamu.

Offensive lineman Connor Williams also goes on the list, having newly tested positive for COVID-19. Of the six players, four are positive, as is defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.

McCarthy admitted that he doesn’t know if any of the affected personnel will be available in time for the Cowboys’ final preseason game against Jacksonville, scheduled for Sunday.

“I’m not sure. Everybody’s status is different based on the level of testing,” McCarthy said. “I don’t have timelines for each individual.”

As of now, the coach is preparing for the game despite the troubling numbers, and he knows of no plan to cancel or postpone the exhibition contest.

“We’re planning on playing Sunday.”

McCarthy and the Cowboys staff will attempt to conduct business as usual this week, using The Star’s massive facilities to full advantage to help limit large groups as the team continues to identify at-risk individuals.

“We’re in the contact tracing mode, so we’re working through that,” he explained. “Like anything, that’s been a part of this process. We take it very serious, so we’re looking at alterations to our schedules and making sure our meeting places are the best they can be. We will start to alter our schedule starting tomorrow.”

McCarthy was reluctant, though, to go on record with any genuine optimism that this COVID-19 outbreak would suddenly be fully behind the team- or even notably better- by the season opener on September 9th.

“I don’t know what ‘better’ means,” the coach said. “I mean, this is the climate that we’re in. The great thing is we have experience at it. Clearly, when the adjustments are made throughout the football operations, we have clear options. We have plans that have been used. We move from one segment of normality to half-virtual, half-working inside based on what we’re trying to get done. We’re prepared to handle this.”

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