A day after clinching a playoff berth, the Eagles are now dealing with their biggest COVID-19 outbreak of the season.
The Eagles on Monday afternoon placed 12 players on their Reserve/COVID-19 list, including several stars and starters.
Here’s the full list of players added to the list: Fletcher Cox, Jason Kelce, Dallas Goedert, Rodney McLeod, Avonte Maddox, Alex Singleton, Nate Herbig, Boston Scott, Genard Avery, Jordan Howard, Marcus Epps, Jack Stoll.
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NFL Network first reported the outbreak.
The good news is that the Eagles have already clinched a playoff spot and the outcome of Saturday night’s game against the Cowboys is unlikely to change all that much. The most likely opponent for the Eagles will be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers regardless of this weekend’s outcomes.
And even without these positive COVID cases, the Eagles were already thinking about resting some of their starters in Week 18. This could just take some of the guess work out of it.
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Even if some of these players return from the list in time for Saturday’s game, they still might not play.
Obviously, the first hope is that these players don’t get too sick and have minimal symptoms. But them testing positive now should give these players ample time to be back off the list before the Eagles’ playoff game in less than two weeks.
One question remains with Kelce, who has started 121 consecutive games (128 including playoffs). That streak is now in danger. Here’s a look at where Kelce ranks in Eagles history:
144 … Jon Runyan, OT [2000-2008]
135 … Herm Edwards, DB [1977-1985]
127 … Jerry Sisemore, OT [1974-1982]
124 … Randy Logan, DB [1973-1981]
121 … Jason Kelce, C [2014-2021]
120 … Reggie White, DE [1985-1992]
119 … Stan Walters, OT [1975-1983]
116 … Ron Jaworski, QB [1977-1984]
115 … Frank LeMaster, LB [1975-1982]
Goedert is another interesting case. He has already been on the Reserve/COVID-19 list once this year. He missed the Bucs game earlier this season after testing positive.
Coming into Monday, the Eagles had just one player from their 53-man roster (Andre Chachere) on their Reserve/COVID-19 list, along with several players from the practice squad: Noah Togiai, John Hightower, KeeSean Johnson, Craig James.
