The Cleveland Browns are in the midst of a playoff battle in the AFC and are facing a short week with their Week 15 outing against the Las Vegas Raiders coming Saturday afternoon.
Unfortunately, the Browns are facing a COVID-19 outbreak. Earlier in the day, reports indicated that the team had informed personnel all meetings would be held virtually due to new positives within the organization.
We now have more clarity on this. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, star wide receiver Jarvis Landry and starting guard Wyatt Teller have been placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. It’s safe to say that they are two of the individuals who had positive tests earlier in the day.
Zac Jackson of The Athletic goes on to note that six other members of the Browns’ roster have also been placed on the list.
- Austin Hopper, tight end
- Takk McKinley, EDGE
- Jedrick Wills Jr., offensive tackle
- JoJo Natson, wide receiveer
- Ross Travis, tight end
- Drew Forbes, offensive tackle
That’s eight members of the Browns who are very much in question to play Saturday against the Raiders. It’s all about what led the players to being placed on the reserve list. They either tested positive for the virus or came into close contact with an individual who has COVID-19 while being unvaccined.
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That’ll be sorted out later. What we do know is that the reports from the Cleveland Browns earlier on Tuesday seems to suggest these are positive cases.
COVID-19 outbreak and the Cleveland Browns
This comes a day after the NFL reported a record 37 new COVID-19 cases on Monday. It’s a clear indication we’re seeing a major outbreak of the virus around the league during the holidays.
As for the Browns, they sit at 7-6 on the season following a big Week 14 win over the Baltimore Ravens. They are currently tied with the Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals and Denver Broncos for the final two spots in the AFC Playoff race.
Cleveland currently loses the tiebreaker against the Colts and Bills while holding said advantage over the Bengals and Browns.
Needless to say, the possibility of being without so many core players will impact the Browns against a Raiders team Saturday afternoon that still holds some hope for postseason action.
We’ll have much further on the Cleveland Browns’ COVID-19 outbreak as information becomes available. For now, it’s not great.