Several Browns players were in the team’s recovery pool area recently with linebacker BJ Goodson, who learned on Saturday that he tested positive for COVID-19, and the NFL had a video showing that at least one of these players was not wearing the mask correctly during another interaction, by sources.
These encounters led the NFL to label all of these players – including four of the five recipients in Cleveland’s active squad – as close-to-risk high-profile contacts, forcing the Browns to put them on the reserve / COVID-19 list and move them away to Sunday. game against the Jets.
Sharing the recovery pool – which includes a hot and cold tub – is not in itself a violation of the COVID protocols. But NFL medical experts analyze cumulative time, distance, mask use and ventilation in the area where exposure to any positive individual occurred and, if the limit is exceeded in two or more of these four categories, it is labeled as contact close to high risk.
Wide receivers Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and KhaDarel Hodge landed on the reserve / COVID-19 list on Saturday, along with Goodson and linebacker Jacob Phillips. The only receiver left on the active list is Marvin Hall, who has not played for the Browns since they claimed him a few weeks ago. They elevated recipients Ja’Marcus Bradley and Derrick Willies, as well as linebacker Montrel Meander, of the training team.
The Browns learned of Goodson’s positive test on Saturday morning and started working with the NFL on contact tracking, which includes interviews, data from tracking devices that all players and other employees use, and video review. This process delayed the team’s flight to New Jersey for several hours before finally leaving at around 7:00 pm Eastern time.
The NFL has repeatedly said it will not postpone or cancel games for competitive reasons, including a team being exhausted or eliminated in one position. Now, just like the Broncos defender last month, the Browns are going to play a game without their top four receivers.