Eagles Activate Nathan Gerry from COVID-19 List
And then there were two, as in the number of players that remain on the Eagles’ Reserve/COVID-19 list after the team activated linebacker Nathan Gerry from that list on Sunday morning.
The Eagles roster is at 78 players after the team released defensive tackle Bruce Hector and cornerback Prince Smith on Friday.
Offensive linemen Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata are still on the Reserve/COVID-19 list as training camp heads into its second full week with an eye toward NFL season kicking off in one day and one month with the Chiefs and Texans scheduled for Sept. 10.
Gerry, Johnson, and Mailata were placed on the list prior to camp. Johnson confirmed at the time, via social media, that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. Whether or not Gerry or Mailata tested positive isn’t known, because landing on the Active/COVID-19 list doesn’t necessarily mean a positive test.
It could mean that a player or coach was exposed to someone who had tested positive and is being quarantined just in case.
Eagles head coach Doug Pederson also tested positive for the virus and has been helping run the training camp schedule virtually since announcing to his team last Sunday night that he would be out for a while.
In Pederson’s place, assistant head coach/running backs coach Duce Staley has been carrying out the agenda each practice day.
“Doug’s doing a really good job of leading this team virtually,” said Fletcher Cox last week. “It’s one of those deals we have to be able to adapt as a team. A lot of stuff is going to happen in the season, and we have to adapt to it.
“Doug is the leader we all know. He’s doing a really good job leading us virtually, Duce is doing a really good of handling everything and players doing a really good job, so everything is going smooth.”
As for Gerry, his return to the team is much needed, considering he is one of the more experienced players among his position group.
Rookie linebacker Davion Taylor said during a recent Zoom call that he was impressed with Gerry during the virtual meeting in the offseason.
Of his linebacker group, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said on July 31:
“We’re excited about our whole roster right now. As far as household names, maybe there’s not a lot of that at that position, but we’ve had guys who have put a lot of time on the grass and in the meeting rooms. It’s time for us to see those guys play, whether it’s T.J. Edwards … a draft pick. Or even a guy like Duke Riley, who we traded for last year.
“All of those guys are in the mix. All of those guys, we’re excited about. One of the things I’m excited about at the linebacker position is adding a guy like Jatavis (Brown), adding Davion Taylor and Shaun Bradley. We have some real speed at that position. All of our guys have different skill sets, but we made a real strong point to add speed.
“I think we’re probably a faster group than we’ve been in any of the four years previous. So I’m excited about that, and it’s going to be a great competition in training camp … We’ll come up with the best matchups.”
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