COVID-19 issues ravaging Jaguars’ roster ahead of Week 17 matchup with Patriots

The Jacksonville Jaguars are going to be missing several key players for Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Massachusetts, as COVID-19 issues have ravaged through the team’s roster.

The latest players to be added to the Reserve/COVID-19 list and Practice Squad/COVID-19 list are starting safety Andrew Wingard and practice squad running back BJ Emmons. The Jaguars also placed offensive lineman Will Richardson on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury.

With Wingard and Emmons now out due to COVID-19, that makes 27 players between the active roster and practice squad who are either on the Reserve/COVID-19 list or Practice Squad/COVID-19 list:

Reserve/COVID-19 list:

• Josh Allen, DE/OLB
• Dan Arnold, TE
• Ben Bartch, OL
• Malcom Brown, DT
• K’Lavon Chaisson, DE/OLB
• Travis Etienne Jr., RB
• Luke Farrell, TE
• Rudy Ford, S
• DaVon Hamilton, DT
• Jacob Hollister, TE
• Myles Jack, LB
• Brandon Linder, OL
• Chris Manhertz, TE
• Lerentee McCray, DE/OLB
• Jaydon Mickens, WR
• Dylan Moses, LB
• Andrew Norwell, OL
• Cam Robinson, OL
• Laviska Shenault Jr., WR
• Jordan Smith, DE/OLB
• Jay Tufele, DT
• Jihad Ward, DL
• Damien Wilson, LB
• Andrew Wingard, S

Practice Squad/COVID-19

• BJ Emmons, RB
• Josh Hammond, WR
• Jared Hocker, OL

Some of these players may be cleared to play before Sunday’s matchup against the Patriots, as the NFL and NFLPA recently agreed to cut down the isolation period for players after a positive test for asymptomatic individuals to five days (it was previously 10 days), but the Jaguars will certainly be shorthanded in this game regardless.

Per NFL.com:

The NFL and NFL Players Association agreed to modify their joint COVID-19 protocols on Tuesday, cutting the standard isolation period after a positive test for asymptomatic individuals from 10 days to five days regardless of vaccination status.

The offensive line is particularly a concern, with four starters on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, and Richardson, one of the team’s top backups, on IR. There are currently only four offensive linemen on the active roster as of press time.

However, Jacksonville likely would be overmatched against New England even with a fully healthy roster. Hopefully any players who are currently positive for the virus recover quickly and do not have any lingering effects moving forward. Expect to hear a lot of new names called during Sunday’s contest.