Jaguars Activate Punter Logan Cooke Off Of Reserve/COVID-19 List
The Jacksonville Jaguars have activated punter Logan Cooke off the Reserve/COVID-19 list, the club announced Thursday.
Cooke had been on the list since following a Week 15 loss to the Baltimore Raves. As the team prepared to leave Jacksonville for that road trip, it was announced Cooke would not be joining his team. At the time, the reasoning was disclosed as an “illness.”
On the following Monday, Cooke was officially placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.
The Reserve/COVID-19 list is a reserve category created by the NFL for a player who either tests positive for COVID-19 or who has been quarantined after having been in close contact with an infected person or persons. Teams are not permitted to comment on a player’s medical status other than referring to roster status and they also may not disclose whether the player is in quarantine or is positive for COVID-19.
“If you have those things occur, you have to adjust,” said Head Coach Doug Marrone of missing Cooke after that 40-14 Baltimore loss.
“You’re always prepared for it, just like if you have an injury right before the game, be ready to go for it. It changed a little bit, [we] went back last night after we knew. And then, obviously, we always have a plan that Aldrick [Rosas] would take over those duties.”
Without Cooke, the team turned to kicker Aldrick Rosas that first weekend and asked him to pull double duty for the day. Rosas punted three teams, averaging 36.7 yards a punt. None were downed inside the 20 and none were touchbacks. On average, the Ravens began their drive off punts on their 40-yard line.
On December 24, ahead of the Week 16 matchup against the Chicago Bears, the club signed long time veteran Dustin Colquitt off of Tampa Bay’s practice squad.
Colquitt, a 16-year NFL veteran, two-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion, was originally drafted by Kansas City, where he spent the first 15 seasons of his career.
During Sunday’s 41-17 loss to the Bears, Colquitt punted six times for 272 yards, averaging 45.3 yards per punt. None were touchbacks and two were placed inside the 20-yard line. Only three were returned, for an average of 8.3 yards per.
With Cooke now back on the active roster, it is presumed he will resume duties on Sunday in the regular season finale against the Indianapolis Colts.
Cooke has punted 49 times this year for 2,334 yards (47.6 yards per punt). He has 11 punts within the opposing team's 10-yard line, tied for second-most in the NFL.
"Logan’s always been steady for us," Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone said about Cooke in November. "He’s always been a good net. He really kicks a bunch of different types of balls. I think you guys are seeing that where he can line it, he’s good at his sky kicks, he has another ball that spins sideways a little bit, so he’s always continuing to work [on it] and he’s also doing a lot of our kickoff duties,
"He always has a really good demeanor, never really gets rattled, can come back if it’s a poor kick because everyone’s going to have those from time to time. But [he] has really been a solid draft pick, solid guy, guy that we’ve gotten production out of and he had a great year last year in the net. He continues to play well, and I think he’ll be a guy that’s in this league for a very long time.”
