The Baltimore Ravens placed six players on the Reserve/Covid-19 List yesterday. Outside of practice squad offensive lineman Will Holden (who was elevated to play last week), we do not know who among them tested positive, and who is a close contact, which is important information. The latest list of players includes one starter, D.J. Fluker, who has played at right tackle since Ronnie Stanley was lost for the season.
According to Pro Football Talk, the Ravens had one new confirmed positive PCR test today, which does not include Holden, who tested positive on Friday, so extrapolating from this, we can assume that one of the five other players tested positive, and the other four are being placed on the Reserve/Covid-19 List as high-risk close contacts.
Because the team has not gathered since Tuesday before noon for a walkthrough, it is highly likely that the last close contact these high-risk cases had with any positive case from within the organization was a while ago already.
As I made sure to note yesterday, a high-risk close contact must remain isolated for five days after their last close contact with the positive case. The clock starts from then, not from the time that they are placed on the Reserve/Covid-19 List. In theory, a high-risk close contact could spend only a day on reserve if he were to be deemed such at a late stage.
As for the names involved, other than those mentioned, two are cornerbacks who were already on the Reserve/Injured List, those being Tavon Young and Khalil Dorsey, so from a football perspective, this will not hurt the Ravens at this time.
The other two players are Jaylon Ferguson and Broderick Washington, the former a second-year edge defender who joins Pernell McPhee from his position group on the list. Washington is a rookie defensive tackle who has gotten more playing time lately due to injuries.
Including nose tackle Brandon Williams, who was placed on the Reserve/Covid-19 List as a high-risk close contact, the Ravens have five defensive linemen sidelined. Both Williams and Campbell had already been dealing with injuries. Needless to say, they are very thin along the defensive line now.
And the concern here is the fact that they can’t even bring anybody off the street because of the Covid-19 protocols, which require that players go through a five-day testing process before they can enter the building. But providing that the game is not postponed again, they will simply have to play with what they have and figure out ways to accommodate for the absences.
