The news about COVID-19 continues to come for the Minnesota Vikings, as the team has just announced that they have placed four of their rookies on their reserve / COVID-19 list.
Among the four is the first player the Vikings selected last April, wide receiver Justin Jefferson. He is joined by offensive lineman Blake Brandel, safety Brian Cole II and offensive lineman Tyler Higby.
As ESPN’s Adam Schefter points out, this does no it means that all four players listed definitely have COVID-19. It simply means that they may have been exposed to it.
Four Vikings, including their first-round pick, are being placed on the reserve / COVID list. It does not mean that they have it; They may have been exposed to it. They have had no contact with coach Eric Sugarman, who tested positive over the weekend. There is no overlap there. pic.twitter.com/iLoyJClyGt
– Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 27, 2020
Schefter also says that none of the four players in question has had contact with Vikings athletic trainer Eric Sugarman, who we reported to have tested positive for the virus.
As you can see from the Vikings statement found in Schefter’s tweet above, the reserve / COVID-19 list is for players who either positive test for COVID-19 or that has been quarantined after being in close contact with an infected person or persons. So again, we can’t just assume that any or all of the four players the Vikings have put on the list have the virus. The statement also says the club cannot reveal whether a player is quarantined or positive for COVID-19, so everything he hears is nothing but speculation unless one of these players hears it.
We can probably expect more players to finish on this list in the short term, as most of the Vikings roster are not required to show up at camp until tomorrow.
