NFL COVID-19 update: Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett tests positive for COVID-19
The Browns will place defensive end Myles Garrett on the reserve/COVID-19 list, the team announced Friday morning.
The star defensive end who leads the NFL with 9.5 sacks has been away from Browns headquarters all week because of an illness.
On Thursday, coach Kevin Stefanski said Garrett had been scheduled to rejoin the team in person on Friday, but those plans were derailed because Garrett tested positive for COVID-19.
From a competitive standpoint, this is the biggest blow the Browns (6-3) could have suffered heading into their home game Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles (3-5-1). They will be missing Garrett, the franchise’s best player and an NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate, as they chase their first playoff berth since 2002.
The Browns announced contact tracing has been completed without any high-risk close contacts of Garrett being identified. The club’s training facility remained open Friday, and the team is scheduled to practice at 12:35 p.m.
Garrett will become the fifth Browns player to land on the reserve/COVID-19 list in a week. He tested positive and is symptomatic, so he must stay away from the team for at least 10 days. Whether he will receive the requisite medical clearance to return in time to face the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 29 remains to be seen.
No Browns player had tested positive for the virus from August until last week.
Backup offensive lineman Chris Hubbard became the first and landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Nov. 13. Fullback Andy Janovich wound up on the list Monday. Then starting right offensive tackle Jack Conklin and kicker Cody Parkey were put on it Wednesday.
Hubbard and Janovich tested positive for the virus. Conklin and Parkey were identified as high-risk close contacts of a medical practitioner who tested positive for the virus.
Stefanski said Thursday the Browns are hopeful Conklin and Parkey could be activated from the list on Saturday and face the Eagles on Sunday, as long as they continue to test negative.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com.
