The Detroit Lions have placed quarterback Matthew Stafford on the reserve/COVID-19 list, the team announced Wednesday.
Stafford had a high-risk close contact with a non-team person on Monday and is asymptomatic, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports, per a source.
The team will have to fly Stafford on a private plane to Minnesota because he'll still be in the five-day isolation window when the team departs Saturday, a source tells Pelissero. Stafford cannot practice this week, Pelissero adds, but should he produce negative results in the coming days and remains asymptomatic, the Lions QB will be eligible to play on Sunday vs. the Vikings.
This isn't Stafford's first brush with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The quarterback landed on the list with a false-positive test in early August, coming off it only after two negative tests that proved the initial test was a false positive. Stafford's false positive prompted the NFL and NFLPA to quickly update its joint COVID-19 protocol.
Stafford spoke in August of the fear prompted by a positive COVID-19 test, acknowledging "everybody is doing the best that they possibly can."
We'll learn before Sunday whether Stafford's latest COVID-19 experience ends up causing him to miss time.
