The Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars of the American football league (NFL) placed players on the reserve list for covid-19 this Saturday, but they keep their games on Sunday.
Falcons defensive end John Cominsky, Ravens tackle Brandon Williams and Jaguars defensive end Josh Mauro were included on that reserve list, which implies they have tested positive for coronavirus or had close contact with some infected person.
In the case of Brandon Williams, his loss in Sunday’s game is not due to testing positive for covid-19 but because he was in close contact with someone who did, according to the NFL Network channel.
Josh Mauro, on his side, had just served a five-game suspension for using performance-enhancing substances.
The Jaguars also put 12 players from the practice team in reserve after one of them tested positive for COVID-19, which also caused the closure of the franchise facilities.
According to ESPN, the New England Patriots also added three other players to the roster on Saturday: Shaq Mason (starter), Derek Rivers (reserve) and Sony Michel (currently injured).
The Patriots, who closed their facilities again on Friday due to a new case of coronavirus in their squad, have suffered for days a major outbreak in their locker room that affected their star quarterback, Cam Newton.
Despite this situation, the four teams have their matches scheduled for Sunday.
The Falcons (0 wins and 5 losses) must visit the Minnesota Vikings (1-4) and the Ravens (4-1) the Philadelphia Eagles (1-3 and a draw), while the Jaguars (1-4) will receive the Detroit Lions (1-3) and the Patriots (2-2) the Denver Broncos (1-3).
The franchises are conducting additional testing and tracking the contacts of the players involved under NFL security protocols, which state that anyone with a close “high risk” contact must be isolated for at least five days.
Since the start of the regular season on September 10, the NFL has had to make numerous adjustments to the schedule due to the continued appearance of COVID-19 cases in teams.
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