Getty James Looney #99 of the Green Bay Packers warms up during pregame warm ups prior to the start of an NFL preseason football game against the Oakland Raiders at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on August 24, 2018 in Oakland, California.
Mason Crosby is back in action for the Green Bay Packers, and some of his fellow teammates on the COVID-19 reserve list could be right behind him.
The 33-year-old veteran kicker was designated as an “active list addition” on Saturday afternoon in an updated release of the league’s COVID-19 list, officially putting Crosby back on the Packers’ active roster for the first time since he was placed on the list on Aug. 6.
The Packers also cleared the way for additional players to return from the COVID-19 list with the release of three players, including two undrafted rookies, prior to Saturday’s first practice of 2020 training camp. The Packers cut tight end James Looney, a 2018 seventh-round pick, along with cornerback Marc-Antoine Dequoy and wideout Darrell Stewart.
Looney played just 19 defensive snaps during his two seasons for the Packers with most of his time spent on the practice squad, but there was additional intrigue about him coming into 2020 training camp after he was converted from a defensive lineman into a tight end early last December. Whether his position will change again following his release remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, Dequoy and Stewart signed with the Packers as undrafted free agents but became the latest rookies to fall victim to roster cuts related to the reduced size of training camp rosters — from 90 to 80 players. The Packers had already cut loose quarterback Jalen Morton, fullback Jordan Jones and safety Frankie Griffin from their group of 2020 UDFAs.
While the releases were announced after practice, Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel confirmed none of the three players were present Saturday on the practice field.
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Crosby Returns, More Likely to Follow
Crosby is the first Packers player to be activated off the COVID-19 list after five of them were placed on the list following the initial round of coronavirus testing for training camp.
The Packers have still not activated tight end Jace Sternberger, defensive lineman Treyvon Hester, long snapper Hunter Bradley or outside linebacker Greg Roberts from their COVID-19 list, but Olivia Reiner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported all except for Roberts were on the sidelines without helmets for Saturday’s first practice.
Players who are put on the COVID-19 reserve list have either tested positive for the coronavirus or have come into contact with at least one infected person. They are held out for a minimum of five days if they are asymptomatic or a minimum of 10 days from when they first got sick if they are symptomatic. In order to be activated again, players must past two tests in a 24-hour window and then pass a progressive workout protocol.
That Sternberger, Hester and Bradley were all present for Saturday’s practice suggests all three of them are in the final phase of their return protocol and could soon be eligible for return to the active roster. The Packers’ three roster cuts from Saturday also leave two spots open on the team’s 80-man roster.
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Packers Activate Starter Off COVID-19 List, Release 3 Others