Getty Matthew Stafford during a game against the Chiefs.
Matthew Stafford was placed on the Detroit Lions‘ COVID/Reserve list, and little specifics were known on his case until Monday morning.
According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, Stafford did test positive for the virus over the weekend and wasn’t a simple case of coming into contact with another positive person, but it’s a bit hard to explain why that is the case given a pair of negative tests beforehand might be complicating matters.
Here’s a look at what Breer wrote on the case:
“Lions QB Matt Stafford did, indeed, test positive for COVID-19 (this wasn’t a case of being in close contact with someone sick). The test was administered on Friday, and Stafford was asymptomatic beforehand. That means that Stafford passed tests on Tuesday and Wednesday, before the positive came up and landed him on the reserve list. And now he’ll have to go through the process of being cleared to go back in the building. So what happened? It’s hard to know. But this is a reminder that these tests still aren’t perfect, and problems could certainly result with players being tested as consistently as they will (which, in my opinion, is the right way to do it, and something the players pushed for). For now, it’s manageable.”
As explained by Dr. Jessica Flynn on Twitter, it’s possible that Stafford had a contaminated sample, or had very small traces of the virus in his system early on leading to the positive test. Or, it was a true positive and his viral load simply increased over a few days time.
As always, the only thing for the team to do will be to watch and see what happens with Stafford in the meantime, and that is why the teams organized the COVID list. Stafford will quarantine and monitor his symptoms now for safety’s sake, no matter how confusing things might seem or what his case might be.
Matthew Stafford Placed on COVID/Reserve List
Late Saturday, it was revealed the quarterback had been placed on the COVID/Reserve list for the team. Stafford is the highest profile player to make the list for the Lions in recent days given his position on the team. He also becomes the first quarterback in the league to crack the list in 2020.
ESPN’s Field Yates was first to break the story:
Lions QB Matthew Stafford has been placed on the reserve/COVID list, per source.
Stafford will now join 7 of his teammates in having to wait to be cleared in order to get back into the mix for the team moving forward.
T.J. Hockenson, Kenny Golladay Land on COVID/Reserve List
Wednesday, Detroit placed 5 players on the COVID/reserve list. The biggest names were wideout Kenny Golladay, tight end T.J. Hockenson, cornerback Amani Oruwariye and punter Arryn Siposs. The final player was safety Jalen Elliott.
Not only is John Atkins opting out of the season, but the Lions have also placed Kenny Golladay and T.J. Hockenson on the reserve/COVID-19 list, meaning both have either tested positive for the virus or been in close contact with an infected person.
The news doesn’t mean that all the players were positive, of course. They may have been in contact with another person who was infected. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Siposs was positive but asymptomatic which means he could theoretically be back sooner.
Detroit will have to monitor these players as well as the rest of their roster to see what happens in the coming days.
Justin Coleman Placed on COVID/Reserve List
According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, cornerback Justin Coleman was added to the list on Thursday afternoon. He’s the third key Lions starter that has been sent to the list in the last few days.
The #Lions are placing CB Justin Coleman on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, source said. Coleman is asymptomatic and tested negative Tuesday before a positive test Wednesday.
Additionally, the team placed tight end Isaac Nauta on the list as well, bringing their total of player to 7.
After Justin Coleman (who told me via text he is doing OK) and Isaac Nauta ended up on the COVID reserve list, that places seven Lions on the list — which means they’ve either tested positive for COVID or have been in close contact with someone who has coronavirus.
Previously on Wednesday, the Lions had added 5 players to the list, so early on, they’ve seen plenty of action in terms of the coronavirus. Now, the step is for the team to sit back and wait for everyone to be cleared.
That’s Stafford’s goal now for the Lions, and only in time will anybody be able to tell what actually happened to the quarterback.