Colts’ Malik Henry, Jackson Porter Placed on COVID-19 List

A day before Indianapolis Colts veterans were expected to report to the team facility for training camp, two young players were placed on the NFL’s reserve/COVID-19 list, which means they either tested positive or are quarantined because they came in close contact with an infected person.

INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Malik Henry and cornerback Jackson Porter were placed on the NFL’s reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday, according to the league’s transaction wire.

The classification, coming one day before veterans are to report to the team facility for training camp, signifies the players had a positive test for the Coronavirus or have been quarantined because they were in close contact with someone with this disease.

Based on NFL protocol, any team must place a player who falls into either of those categories on the reserve/COVID-19 list, which can be short-term.

Neither the Colts nor NFL are required to divulge the reason.

Henry, 23, spent most of December on the Colts’ practice squad and then signed a reserve/future contract with the team on Dec. 30. The wide receiver was originally undrafted out of West Georgia and signed with San Francisco and eventually spent time on the 49ers practice squad.

Porter, 25, took a similar path to the Colts. Undrafted out of Massachusetts in 2018, he spent preseasons with Baltimore and Green Bay before being waived. He joined the Colts practice squad in November and signed a reserve/future contract on Dec. 30.

The duo were among 20 NFL players who have been placed on the list. The Jacksonville Jaguars and Minnesota Vikings each had four players and the Miami Dolphins had three.

Six days ago, the NFL Players Association reported that 59 players had tested positive for COVID-19.

Colts rookies received a first test last Tuesday, a second test on Friday, and were cleared to enter the locker room if negative, according to a team-released video. Veterans must go through the same protocol, passing three tests before beginning an eight-day strength and conditioning program in advance of the team’s first non-contact practices.

Quarterback Philip Rivers was shown reporting to the facility on Monday in a team video posted on Twitter.

(Phillip B. Wilson has covered the Indianapolis Colts for more than two decades and authored the 2013 book 100 Things Colts Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He’s on Twitter @pwilson24, on Facebook at @allcoltswithphilb and @100thingscoltsfans, and his email is phillipbwilson24@yahoo.com.)