Who will and won’t play in Panthers-Bills game? Will COVID play a factor?
The Carolina Panthers are on high alert after quarterback Matt Barkley was placed on the team’s COVID/reserve list Friday, presumably because he tested positive.
Quarterbacks Cam Newton and P.J. Walker, who are both expected to play Sunday, were close contacts and must be tested daily.
Walker and Newton are vaccinated and, as of Friday, neither had tested positive. Panthers coach Matt Rhule said after learning about Barkley, that they sequestered P.J. Walker this week and made his meetings remote to limit any contact between the quarterbacks.
With Barkley likely out for Sunday, Newton and Walker are the only available quarterbacks on the roster. Quarterback Sam Darnold, who is coming off a shoulder blade injury, has not been cleared by doctors to play yet.
Rhule said that the Panthers have not signed another quarterback, nor do they plan to. In the case of an emergency, the Panthers would go to running back Reggie Bonnafon, who played quarterback in college.
“I think everyone in the National Football League is (holding their breath) right now when you see what’s happening,” Rhule said. “Obviously, the new (Omicron) variant is highly, highly contagious. We’re trying to exercise best caution.”
COVID has ravaged sports leagues across the country in recent weeks, as multiple teams have started to deal with outbreaks.
The Cleveland Browns had at least 22 players who either tested positive for COVID-19 this week or are still on the COVID-19/reserve list.
The Washington Football Team also had 22 players go on its COVID-19/reserve list this week, including its top two quarterbacks, Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen.
Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey was placed on COVID-19/reserve list earlier this week, but he is out for the rest of the season.
With the rise in cases, the NFL changed its protocols Thursday, giving vaccinated asymptomatic players a chance to test out a day earlier than they would under the previous protocols.
The Panthers play the Bills on Sunday, and so far, no other players for the Panthers have tested positive.
Injury report
Here is the injury report for the Panthers-Bills game:
PANTHERS: CB A.J. Bouye (foot) OUT, WR DJ Moore (hamstring) QUESTIONABLE, LG Michael Jordan (hamstring) QUESTIONABLE, RG John Miller (ankle) QUESTIONABLE.
BILLS: RB Taiwan Jones (knee) QUESTIONABLE, DT Star Lotulelei (toe) QUESTIONABLE, WR Emmanuel Sanders (knee) OUT.
