Carolina Panthers place rookie defensive lineman on reserve/COVID-19 list
The Carolina Panthers placed rookie defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos on the reserve/COVID-19 list Monday.
He is the first Panther to be placed on the list since cornerback Rasul Douglas on Oct. 23, who missed two games as a result. Five Panthers were placed on the COVID-19 list in October, including Douglas, partly due to contact tracing.
The Panthers began their bye week Monday. The facility was previously scheduled to be closed Monday and Tuesday according to league protocols.
Players are placed on the league’s COVID-19 list after testing positive or if they have close exposure to someone who has tested positive. Throughout the league and the country, there has been a rise in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks.
Gross-Matos played 41 defensive snaps and six special teams snaps in the team’s 28-27 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. He then traveled back with the team. Players and certain team personnel are tested daily, including on game days. That testing will continue during the Panthers’ bye week.
Gross-Matos has missed four games this season with various injuries, including spending three weeks on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain.
Because of the bye week, he will have a chance to be available for the Panthers’ next game against the Denver Broncos scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 13.
The 2020 second-round pick has 16 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one tackle for loss, a forced fumble and two quarterback hits this year. He has started each of the last three games with defensive end Stephen Weatherly (finger) on injured reserve.
This story was originally published November 30, 2020 at 3:31 PM.
