This is what we were worried about when the New Orleans Saints began adding players to the COVID-19 reserve list earlier this week. An outbreak of cases sweeping across the NFL has touched New Orleans, with the Times-Picayune | Advocate’s Jeff Duncan reporting that Saints backup quarterback Trevor Siemian is expected to enter league COVID-19 protocols and be unavailable for Monday night’s game with the Miami Dolphins.
That follows the earlier placements of tight ends Juwan Johnson and Adam Trautman on the COVID-19 reserve list, leaving just two tight ends available for the Dolphins game (Nick Vannett on the 53-man roster and Ethan Wolf on the practice squad). It’s a bad time to be shorthanded.
If Siemian is also sidelined, it leaves New Orleans with only one healthy quarterback behind Taysom Hill: rookie draft pick Ian Book, who hasn’t played a down this season. He’s been inactive for all but two games in Weeks 9 and 10. It’s too late in the game to add another passer, so there’s a non-zero chance we see Book hit the field if Hill misses time while managing a couple of different injuries.
But Duncan’s report adds that other Saints players could land on the COVID-19 reserve list, too. It’s something to keep an eye out for in the days leading up to kickoff with Miami.
