Following Arizona Cardinals receiver A.J. Green's infamous play in the 24-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football, his absence during the open portion of practice on Wednesday was mysterious, although he had been limited in previous weeks as part of a rest day.
Now, we have our answer and it's a continuation of the COVID woes that have plagued this team since training camp opened in July.
The Cardinals placed Green and tight end Demetrius Harris on the reserve/COVID list Wednesday. Green and Harris were two of six players to be placed on the list Wednesday, joining Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley.
All six players were placed on the list because of a positive test.
In response to that news, the Cardinals protected four of their practice-squad players Wednesday, including wide receiver Greg Dortch and tight end David Wells. The other two are guard Danny Isidora and linebacker Joe Walker.
According to figures compiled by Howard Balzer of AllCardinals, this makes it 22 players that been on the reserve/COVID-19 list since rookies reported on July 23. Guard Justin Pugh, wide receiver Andy Isabella and tight end Darrell Daniels have been on the list twice.
The Cardinals had gone four days without having a player on the COVID list after nose tackle Corey Peters was activated Oct. 29. In the 104 days since July 23, there have been only 23 days where there was no one on the list.
Since the opening week of the regular season, eight Cardinals players have tested positive for the virus.
Last week, Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL's chief medical officer, reported that 94.1 percent of the league's players are vaccinated. He also addressed the Cardinals issues, noting that of the previous seven cases, "five were different strains of the virus,” which indicates the exposure came from outside the team facility.
Sills added, “Definitely the impact of vaccinations, we’re not seeing the clustering or uncontrolled spread of the virus. Nor are we seeing the uncontained, unexplainable, uncontrolled spread we saw last year.”
Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury said the team was 100% vaccinated earlier this season. Should that be true and Green and Harris are indeed fully vaccinated, they will need to be asymptomatic and produce two negative tests 24 hours apart in order to be taken off the list.
League-wide, of the 156 players that have tested positive since camps opened, 103 have spent at least 10 days on the reserve list. The Cardinals have accounted for 10 of those 103 (9.7%).
The Packers, who most recently played Arizona last week, also placed cornerback Isaac Yiadom on the reserve/COVID list. Rodgers has come under heavy fire for misleading the public about his vaccination status, as the Packers are now under league investigation for their enforcement of protocols.
Green has yet to miss a game in 2021, catching 29 passes for 456 yards and three touchdowns. Green's presence opposite receiver DeAndre Hopkins has proved pivotal for a Cardinals offense that ranks near the top of the league in passing offense.
The Cardinals are set to play the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Nov. 7 at 2:25 pm Arizona time.
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