The Eagles emptied their Reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday as they get ready to face the Buccaneers in the wild card round on this upcoming weekend.
All 11 players who remained on the COVID list through Week 18 are now ready to return practice this week.
On Monday afternoon the Eagles activated the following players: Fletcher Cox, Dallas Goedert, Rodney McLeod, Avonte Maddox, Alex Singleton, Nate Herbig, Boston Scott, Genard Avery, Jordan Howard, Marcus Epps, Jack Stoll.
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Those 11 players and Jason Kelce were conveniently added to the Eagles’ COVID list on Jan. 3, the day after the Eagles found out they clinched a spot in the playoffs.
READ: Latest on Miles Sanders, Jordan Howard going into playoffs
Kelce was activated from the COVID list on Jan. 7 and played one snap in Week 18 to extend his consecutive starts streak to 122 games. Those other players were not activated and the Eagles probably weren’t in a hurry to get them back for the meaningless Week 18 game against the Cowboys; they rested most of their regulars anyway.
When asked on Saturday night if he perhaps suggested to his players to voluntarily get tested after the Eagles clinched a playoff berth, Nick Sirianni did his best to run away from the line of questioning.
NFL
“I mean, they got COVID,” Sirianni said. “They weren't feeling good.”
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Under the NFL’s newest COVID rules, vaccinated players get tested only when they are symptomatic or if they volunteer. So it would theoretically make sense if key players found out the Eagles were in the playoffs and volunteered to test the next day, virtually ensuring their return for the playoffs if they tested positive.
If that was the plan, it worked.
In any case, the Eagles will get back all these key players for Sunday’s game in Tampa. And, at least for now, the Eagles’ Reserve/COVID list is empty.