Getty Jalen Elliott after a Notre Dame game.
The Detroit Lions continue to get a bit healthier both in terms of the coronavirus and regular ailments as they push toward the start of training camp.
Friday, the team revealed that they had brought their final member off the coronavirus reserve list. Safety Jalen Elliott was revealed to be coming off the list. In addition to that, defensive end Romeo Okwara was activated off the team’s injured list.
Lions announce roster moves: t.co/gwdb483JOb
The health of both players is great to see, and it is especially important to note the Lions are doing a great job at managing the coronavirus thus far with Elliott coming back healthy.
Jalen Elliott Stats
A team captain at Notre Dame, Elliott is a player who will come in with a bit of hype given the fact that he was one of the better players on the back end of the team’s defense. He also will have a solid relationship with Julian Okwara, which could help his case. Elliott put up 173 tackles and 6 interceptions in his career with the Irish. It was already going to be tough to make the team at safety considering how loaded the position is, and it will be interesting to see if he can make the team even though he may have been set back by the early coronavirus concerns.
Romeo Okwara Stats
After being picked up off of the waiver wire in 2018 and breaking out in a huge way that season with 7.5 sacks, Okwara followed that up with an injury riddled 2019 season which saw him only post 1.5 sacks overall and struggle throughout. 2020 figures to be a big season for Okwara, who now has his brother Julian Okwara on the team and is looking to form a strong 1-2 punch with him moving forward. Health will be important for both Okwara brothers this season, so this is a slightly tough setback early on, but it’s good to see Okwara getting healthier.
Lions Managing Coronavirus Well
Since the team has come into the building and withstood the early flurry of tests and players being placed on the COVID/Reserve list, there has been a lack of coronavirus positive tests. That’s continued through the start of this week in early August.
Another day of no positive COVID tests for the Lions. They haven’t had any since entering the building Aug. 1. Good to see.
The Lions are setting their sights toward training camp and getting health ahead of that is a huge goal. So far, so good for the Lions, who only had Elliott remaining on the COVID/Reserve list until this news was revealed.
The hope is Elliott is now healthy and the team can get back to a clean bill of health, at least in terms of COVID. Managing a team during an unprecedented pandemic is tough and ever changing duty, but so far, the Lions have been doing a decent job to manage the virus as best they can.
Bob Quinn Explains Other Lions Changes
The Lions have managed to weather the storm fairly well and are looking prepared to deal with the pandemic as best they can. General manager Bob Quinn spoke with the media and said that the team has been preparing as best they can by cleaning the facility regularly.
Quinn is going over some of the new safety protocols in Allen Park, said Lions have put their facility through 10 deep cleans, which means no one allowed in the building for 48 hours. There’s plexiglass between lockers in the locker room
Additionally, the team’s positional rooms have been moved around in order to better suit the needs of social distancing and the players.
Quinn said the Lions’ QB room is not usable right now because of its size. Every position has gone up a room, essentially, so OL will use the team meeting room, which previously held 120 people. Now holds 34 max.
The team is also going next level in terms of tracking movements within the building, which could be a big plus in terms of limiting the spread.
Players and staff will be wearing microchipped devices (sweat bands, wrist bands), that will track which people you are contact with in the building. Devices blink and give audio alerts if you get too close to people outside designated tiers.
All of these precautions hopefully will mean the Lions can navigate the pandemic well and stay out of trouble in terms of having an outbreak on their team.
So far, so good as it relates to that goal and keeping the team safe.
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Lions Remove Last Player From COVID/Reserve List