Ravens place four players on and activate four players off Reserve/COVID-19 List
The Baltimore Ravens got some good and bad news concerning their recent outbreak of COVID-19 within the organization on Monday ahead of their rescheduled Week 12 bout with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
On the same day that they were able to activate four players off the Reserve/COVID-19 List, they had to place four more players on the list, including a pair of Pro Bowlers.
On Sunday NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported that veteran wide receiver Willie Snead, tight end Mark Andrews, and outside linebacker Matthew Judon tested positive for COVID, and on Monday, the team officially placed all three as well as cornerback Terrell Bonds on the reserve list.
While Bonds was on injured reserve and wasn’t going to play this week anyway, both Andrews and Judon were Pro Bowlers in 2019 and are having strong seasons this year and Snead has been the Ravens most reliable and productive pass-catcher over the last month.
Andrews was already in the high-risk category for contracting the virus since he is a type-1 diabetic. He has appeared in every game this season and leads the team in receptions (38) as well as receiving yards (454) and touchdown (six).
Without him in the lineup, the Ravens will likely have to promote one or several of their veteran tight ends from the practice squad and will be leaning more on their wide receivers to step up in the passing game.
Judon has also played in every game this season and is tied for the second-most sacks on the team with four. The versatile franchised tagged edge defender has recorded 34 tackles, 17 quarterback hits, and a pair of pass deflections in 10 games.
The Ravens were able to activate guard/tackle DJ Fluker, outside linebacker Jaylon Ferguson, defensive tackle Broderick Washington, and cornerback Iman Marshall off the reserve list on Monday.
With the exception of Marshall who tested positive and has now recovered, none of the others that were activated actually test positive for the virus. They were deemed high risk via contact tracing. Marshall was already on season-ending injured reserve for a torn ACL he suffered in training camp.
Having Fluker back in the lineup for this game is a huge boost for the offensive line that will be without versatile linemen Patrick Mekari, Matt Skura, and Will Holden but will likely be getting back rookie Tyre Phillips who has missed the last three games in injured reserve with a high ankle sprain.
With veteran Pernell McPhee still on the reserve list, getting Ferguson back is huge in terms of not only the pass rush off the edge but in run defense as well. The second-year pro has vastly improved in both areas from his rookie season and is an excellent edge setter in the run game.
Washington played a career-high 29 defensive snaps against the Tennessee Titans last week and will likely be in store for an even heavier workload against the Steelers this week since the Ravens have several veteran defensive linemen and his fellow rookie Justin Madubuike remaining on the reserve list.
The Ravens currently have 19 players on the reserve list and has had one or more players test positive for eight consecutive days.
Here is the full list of the players Baltimore placed on the reserve list in order of the day they either tested positive or were deemed high risk via contact tracing:
Monday (Nov.23)- RB Mark Ingram II, RB J.K. Dobbins, NT Brandon Williams
Tuesday- OLB Pernell McPhee
Wednesday- DE Calais Campbell, OL Patrick Mekari, OL Matt Skura
Thursday- QB Lamar Jackson, DE Jihad Ward
Friday- FB Patrick Ricard, DT Justin Madubuike, LS Morgan Cox, G/T Will Holden
Saturday- OLB Jaylon Ferguson, G/T D.J. Fluker, DT Broderick Washington, CB Tavon Young, CB Khalil Dorsey
Monday (Nov.30)- WR Willie Snead, OLB Matt Judon, CB Terrell Bonds, TE Mark Andrews
