The Bills placed wideout — and the team’s most vocal vaccine critic — Cole Beasley on the reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday and he will not play in Sunday’s key showdown with first place in the AFC East on the line at New England, as another 21 NFL players were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday.
On Monday, the first day under the NFL’s revised protocols, 47 players were placed on the COVID-19 list, the most in a single day since the pandemic began.
Buffalo could now be minus two starting receivers after Emmanuel Sanders missed this past weekend’s win over Carolina because of a knee injury.
The unvaccinated Beasley, who was fined by the NFL last summer for failing to wear a mask inside the team’s facility, threatened to retire in June over how the league’s COVID-19 protocols specifically targeted unvaccinated players.
In July, Beasley opened training camp by saying he’s not anti- or pro-vaccination, but pro choice, in criticizing the NFL for failing to provide transparent information in making their choice to get vaccinated. In doing so, he contradicted coach Sean McDermott for saying the team has done everything possible to educate its players.
Also, the Chiefs added wide receiver Tyreek Hill, cornerback Rashad Fenton and tight end Blake Bell to their growing COVID-19 list that already included tight end Travis Kelce and kicker Harrison Butker.
The Chiefs also have Charvarius Ward on the list, which means two of their top three cornerbacks are in the league’s virus protocol, along with defensive tackle Chris Jones, linebacker Willie Gay Jr. and wide receiver Josh Gordon.
Linebacker Nick Bolton, offensive lineman Kyle Long, right tackle Lucas Niang and safety Armani Watts also were added to list.
For the Chiefs, Jones, Gay and Gordon tested positive last week and missed Thursday night's win over the Chargers. There's a good chance the trio could return two negative tests and be available for this week's game against the Steelers.
Kelce, Butker and Ward tested positive on Monday, when the Chiefs began to return from their long weekend. The team did not have any formal meetings or practice until Tuesday and will begin game preparation in earnest on Wednesday.
Until the past two weeks, the Chiefs had navigated the season relatively unscathed when it came to COVID-19, losing only star safety Tyrann Mathieu for a week and a couple of role players. But the rapid transmission of the omicron variant across the league has hit Kansas City hard, resulting in some of their most important players going on the list.
Hill is second in the league with 102 catches and fourth with 1,178 yards to go along with nine touchdown catches. He had 12 catches for 148 yards and a touchdown in his most recent game against Los Angeles, breaking a tie with Chris Burford for third place in franchise history with 56 touchdown receptions.
Hill needs just six more catches to pass Kelce’s single-season franchise record of 105 set last year.
Browns’ star Garrett awaiting word on injury
The Browns got bad news on defensive end Takk McKinley. They’re hoping for better on Myles Garrett.
Cleveland’s defense, already ravaged by COVID-19 cases, was dealt another tough blow as McKinley will miss the rest of this season with a torn Achilles’ tendon suffered in Monday night’s 16-14 loss to the Raiders.
Also, the Browns are anxiously awaiting test results on Garrett after the star injured his groin in the fourth quarter. Garrett left the field and was checked in the sideline medical tent before returning.
The 2020 All-Pro was clearly not himself in the final minutes and struggled just getting to the sideline.
Coach Kevin Stefanski was awaiting more information on Garrett, who has a career-high 15 sacks.
Stefanski, who missed Monday’s game after a positive COVID-19 test and hasn’t cleared protocols, wouldn’t speculate on whether Garrett will be available for Saturday’s game at Green Bay.
“I just don’t know at this point,” he said. “Still have more information coming in.”