The New Orleans Saints tested their entire roster for COVID-19 infections when players arrived for training camp last week, and they were one of a few NFL teams to not report any positive cases.
That changed on Thursday’s update to the NFL transactions wire, when the Saints placed linebacker Kaden Elliss and long snapper Zach Wood to the COVID-19/reserve list. Details are confidential, but this means that they either tested positive themselves or came in contact with someone who had. They will need to test negative twice before they can rejoin the team.
Elliss, 25, joined the Saints last season as a late-round draft pick out of Idaho. His path to the roster lies on special teams, though he’s shown some of the athleticism and smarts needed to be more than a backup on defense. As for Wood: the 27-year old out of SMU signed a four-year contract extension with the Saints earlier this summer, and it’ll be interesting to see how the Saints replace him during his absence. Free agent tryouts are difficult right now given how busy doctors are in fighting a public health crisis.
Hopefully neither Elliss nor Wood will be seriously affected by the coronavirus. Some additions to the COVID-19/reserve list should have been expected, even if the Saints got off to a great start in training camp. Saints coach Sean Payton has been the first to acknowledge that cases will be inevitable in a contact sport with such large rosters.
It’s also worth noting that false positive test results are possible; Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is one recent example. So we should look for some movement on these situations in the days ahead.
The Saints had two players opt out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the NFL deadline for opt outs passed by without more of their teammates joining them, which was also expected. So they’re all in for the long haul.
