Hometown Broadcasting Sports Wednesday 11/4/20
4 November 2020 Sports
The Green Bay Packers have placed RB Jamaal Williams and LB Kamal Martin on the reserve/COVID-19 list, meaning they will not play Thursday against the San Francisco 49ers. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero first reported Tuesday morning that Williams and Martin had been designated high-risk close contacts to A.J. Dillon. The two players will have to isolated and remain away from the facility for at least five days after the last contact with the infected individual, which occurred on Sunday. Williams and Martin will be able to rejoin the team on Saturday.
There are concerns that running back Aaron Jones, who is recovering from a calf injury, will also miss the game. If Jones can’t go then the running back duties will be turned over the Tyler Ervin and Dexter Williams. Ervin has 10 career carries while Williams has five.
On Monday, the team placed A.J. Dillon on the reserve/COVID-19 list. NFL and Players Association policy states the list is for players who test positive or have been in close contact with an infected person. The team says the Packers have entered the NFL’s intensive protocol and Dillon has self-quarantined.
So far Thursday night’s game with the 49ers in San Francisco is still on. The kickoff is set for 7:20.
Meanwhile, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo‘s latest high right ankle sprain wasn’t so much an aggravation of his previous injury as a whole new one, which is why he’ll miss Thursday night’s Green Bay game. He could be out up to six weeks and could miss the rest of the season. 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said Tuesday that the ankle sprain Garoppolo suffered in Sunday’s loss against the Seattle Seahawks was “essentially a whole new one, just on the same foot,” and this sprain is considered more serious than the one he suffered in Week 2 against the New York Jets.
At some point soon, Garoppolo will go on injured reserve, which means he has to miss at least the next three games, including Thursday night’s game against the Green Bay Packers. The same is true of tight end George Kittle, who suffered a fracture in his foot that initially didn’t show up on X-rays on Sunday but did upon further testing on Monday. Kittle, who missed two games with a sprained knee earlier this season, is known for returning sooner than normal injury timetables, but Shanahan indicated that probably won’t be the case this time.
NFL trade deadline day, as is often the case, came and went Tuesday and the Packers did not make any moves to bring in a receiver to help quarterback Aaron Rodgers. There had been rumors that Green Bay would be able to get Houston Texans receiver Will Fuller, but apparently didn’t want to pay Fuller’s price. Apparently, giving up a high pick for Fuller, who would eat up almost all of their 2020 cap space and prevent them from applying it to 2021, did not appeal to the Packers.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers officially activated Antonio Brown from the suspended list on Tuesday. Coach Bruce Arians said Tuesday that Brown will have a role in Sunday night’s game against the New Orleans Saints. The Buccaneers signed Brown last week to a one-year deal for a base salary of $750,000, with incentives that could push the value to $2.5 million.
The Wisconsin Badgers football game against Purdue Saturday has been canceled as the team continues to deal with COVID-19 infections. The Badgers have reported 27 active cases of COVID-19 since Oct. 24. That includes 15 athletes and 12 staffers. Football activities are on hold at this time. This is the second week of no football for the Badgers. Last week’s game against Nebraska was also canceled.
The Badgers released a statement:
I share in the disappointment of our student-athletes and staff,” said UW Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez. “We have seen a level of improvement in our testing numbers, but not enough to give us confidence to resume normal activities and play our game on Saturday. We will continue to test regularly, take the proper health-related precautions and look forward to getting our team back on the field as soon as possible.”
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