The frequency with which teams have placed players on the COVID-19 reserve list has increased in recent weeks to the point at which most have become numb to the potential implications.
On Saturday, the Buccaneers abruptly placed two receivers on the COVID-19 reserve list. And all that that implies.
Jaydon Mickens and Cyril Grayson (currently on the practice squad) have landed in the roster category reserved for those who have tested positive or who have had close contact with someone who has the disease.
If either or both Mickens and Grayson tested positive, the next step becomes contact tracing and the potential placement of others on the COVID-19 reserve list in advance of Sunday’s game at Carolina. The Buccaneers currently have no other players on the COVID-19 reserve list, so Mickens and Grayson aren’t on the list due to exposure to a teammate who tested positive.
Although the NFL has managed to get all games played during the first nine weeks of the 2020 season, the nationwide numbers have skyrocketed since November 1. More people are catching it, which means that more players will catch it (absent a home-market bubble). Which means that the risk of games being postponed to a potential eighteenth week is growing, not shrinking.
Bucs-Panthers doesn’t fall into that category, however. The game could be moved to Week 13, when both teams have their bye week.