FRISCO, Texas – The Dallas Cowboys have added three more players, including sophomore receiver CeeDee Lamb, to the COVID-19 roster and switched to a virtual format Sunday and Monday after defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and defensive tackle Carlos Watkins had been sent home early since Saturday’s preseason game against the Houston Texans.
“I think, like most things we do, we’re just cautious and we want to make sure we contain that outbreak and be smart about it,” coach Mike McCarthy said.
In addition to Lamb, security Malik Hooker and Israel Mukuamu were added to the reserve list / COVID-19 on Monday.
When they announced that Quinn and Watkins were placed on COVID protocols, the Cowboys announced that 93% of their players were completely vaccinated, representing 80 of the 86 players on the list. The entire coaching staff and support staff had to be fully vaccinated before the start of the training camp in order to continue working close to the players.
If a fully vaccinated player or coach fails a test and is completely asymptomatic, he may return to the club facility and interact with players after two negative PCR tests performed at least 24 hours apart, plus a Mesa test. negative before entry.
If a fully vaccinated player or coach is positive and has symptoms, he or she should remain isolated until he or she has two separate negative PCR tests for 24 hours and is free of symptoms for 48 hours.
Unvaccinated players without symptoms will be required to miss at least 10 days. Players without vaccines with symptoms will also miss at least 10 days, in addition to other requirements depending on the severity of the symptoms.
It’s unclear if Quinn or all four players have symptoms.
Coaches and support staff were tested on Sunday.
“We hope to reach that 72-hour mark starting Saturday and we hope to have more information there,” McCarthy said.
By placing four players on the COVID roster, the Cowboys will have to make a single move to reach the 80-player limit on Tuesday. Once the players clear the protocols, the Cowboys will have to make the corresponding move to the roster.
The Cowboys are scheduled to return to practice on Tuesday, but McCarthy did not expect the training tenor to be affected.
“I probably look like everyone here. I see the numbers, I listen to the league’s recommendations, I’m definitely aware of what’s going on in our society, definitely here locally and I just anticipate it,” he said. “My job is to make sure we have a plan no matter what happens.”
A year ago, the Cowboys had six players representing seven games lost on the COVID list.
“Messaging is constant. Whenever there’s a note coming from the league or the NFLPA, it’s always communicating,” McCarthy said. “I really like the advice of players we formed. These guys are active. We all have a clear understanding of what state we are in. We have no clear idea what happened last year. We are taking the same thing. approach “.