Let’s try and spin this as a positive: only one New Orleans Saints player was added to the COVID-19 reserve list on Saturday, with backup defensive end Carl Granderson joining more than a dozen teammates who entered COVID protocols in previous days. Let’s hope he and everyone else, a group totaling 16 of the 69 players under contract (including the practice squad), see a swift return to good health.
Like many of those other losses, Granderson’s absence on its own may not be a huge deal. But if he can’t suit up against the Miami Dolphins on Monday night it would leave the Saints with just two true defensive ends in Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport (who is questionable to play while managing shoulder and knee injuries). The usual backups, Granderson and Jalyn Holmes, are both on the COVID list. While eligible, neither Payton Turner nor Tanoh Kpassagnon have been designated to return just yet.
Here is the full list of Saints players on the reserve list as of Saturday’s update to the daily NFL transactions wire, ordered by the date they entered COVID protocols:
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TE Juwan Johnson (Dec. 21)
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TE Adam Trautman (Dec. 22)
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QB Taysom Hill (Dec. 23)
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QB Trevor Siemian (Dec. 23)
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S Malcolm Jenkins (Dec. 23)
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S Jeff Heath (Dec. 23)
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OL Jordan Mills (Dec. 23)
- OL James Carpenter (Dec. 23)
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DT Christian Ringo (Dec. 23)
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DE Jalyn Holmes (Dec. 23)
- LB Kaden Elliss (Dec. 23)
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S J.T. Gray (Dec. 24)
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OL Ryan Ramczyk (Dec. 24)
- RB Dwayne Washington (Dec. 24)
- LB Demario Davis (Dec. 24)
- DE Carl Granderson (Dec. 25)
