Cardinals' Chandler Jones clears COVID-19 list, could play vs. Texans

It was learned earlier in the day that Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury remained on the COVID-19 list after he tested positive ahead of last Sunday's win at the Cleveland Browns and, thus, could be unavailable for this Sunday's showdown with the 1-5 Houston Texans. 

The unbeaten Cardinals could get a defensive boost for that matchup. 

Per Howard Balzer of All Cardinals, top-tier pass-rusher and two-time First-Team All-Pro Chandler Jones cleared the NFL's COVID-19 protocols after he also missed the Browns contest because of testing positive for the coronavirus. 

"Chan's here today. He's working out and we just gave him his physical," defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said. Joseph and special-teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers have handled head-coaching duties in Kingsbury's absence. 

"We'll see how much he can play or if he can play. He's here, he's smiling, he's in good spirits, so we'll see how it works out. 

"But players obviously with a 10-day COVID stint, it's always tough on players to come back and to be at full strength. So we have to gauge it and make sure it's right for him to play." 

The Cardinals are favorites to roll over an undermanned Houston side, so Arizona may save Jones' return for next Thursday night's game against the Green Bay Packers. Currently, Jones has five sacks, nine tackles, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and 14 quarterback hits this season. He got all five of those sacks in Week 1.