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NFL

Source: Ravens WR Bryant moved to active roster

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Wide receiver Dez Bryant was elevated off the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad on Saturday, a source told ESPN’s Field Yates, making him eligible to play Sunday.

Bryant, 31, completed his second week on the Ravens’ practice squad. He hasn’t played in an NFL game since December 2017.

“I told you I’m covered confident and thankful..” Bryant wrote on Twitter Saturday. “I don’t care who hate it.”

NFL

Guide to every Week 9 NFL game: Picks, matchup nuggets, more

7:15 AM ET

NFL

Lions place QB Stafford on COVID-19 list again

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford missed practice Wednesday and has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, the team announced.

Stafford is considered a “high-risk, close contact” of a non-team member who tested positive for COVID-19, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Stafford’s last contact with the individual was Monday, which means he would be eligible to come off the reserve/COVID-19 list Sunday and play against the Minnesota Vikings, pending five straight days of negative tests for him.

On Thursday, Lions coach Matt Patricia refused to address Stafford’s game status because he believes that is a comment on his health status. Patricia added that the Lions were ready “in all scenarios” as needed but wouldn’t commit to a starter if Stafford can’t play.

“We have Chase [Daniel] and we have David [Blough] on the roster, and those guys prepare every single week like they are getting ready to go play,” Patricia said.

Stafford joins linebacker Jarrad Davis on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Davis was placed on the list Tuesday. The two cases, according to a source with knowledge of the situation, are not related.

This is Stafford’s second stint on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Stafford had a false positive test in August, part of the reason the NFL changed its protocols on testing at the time. Stafford’s wife, Kelly, as well as the organization both offered strong statements at the time about the false positive.

Kelly Stafford reacted again on Wednesday, posting to her Instagram story, “Here we go again.” She also said on Instagram on Wednesday and Thursday that her entire family tested negative and appreciated the concern people have expressed.
The Lions have now had two players placed on the list in as many days, after not having a player on the list since the beginning of training camp in August, when Detroit had at least seven players on the list, including receiver Kenny Golladay and tight end T.J. Hockenson.

Before Wednesday’s practice, Patricia said “nobody would not be able to practice because of JD.”

Detroit did not close its Allen Park, Michigan, facility on Wednesday, and Patricia said the team has been in “constant contact with the NFL.”

“There’s no need for us to shut down the facility,” Patricia said. “There’s no need for any of that, as far as our situation. I can’t speak to the future. I think that right now, everybody across the country, especially in Michigan right now, and the cases going up, really no one knows what the next day is going to look like.

“We just have to do the best we can to stay safe today.”

Stafford, 32, has completed 61.4% of his passes this season for 1,916 yards, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions.

The Lions also had four starters — Golladay (hip), offensive tackles Halapoulivaati Vaitai (foot) and Taylor Decker (back) and safety Tracy Walker (foot) — not practice Wednesday, as well as returner Jamal Agnew (ribs). Four other starters — guard Joe Dahl (back), Hockenson (toe), linebacker Christian Jones (knee) and defensive tackle Danny Shelton (wrist) — were limited. Defensive end Trey Flowers was placed on injured reserve Monday.

NFL

Watt ‘not looking to rebuild’ as Texans stumble

HOUSTON — The Houston Texans are 1-6, have already fired their head coach and general manager and do not have a first- or second-round draft pick in 2021, but defensive end J.J. Watt said he is not interested in a rebuild.

Watt, who was a first-round draft pick by the Texans in 2011, was asked Wednesday whether he thinks he will finish his career in Houston.

“I don’t think it’s any secret that I don’t have 10 years left in this league,” Watt said. “I personally believe that I do have a few more great ones left in me. But you also can’t … I’m not looking to rebuild. I’m looking to go after a championship, and that’s what I want to do. So, whatever is in the best interest of the Houston Texans, that’s in the best interest of myself.” The Texans, who have only beaten the 1-6 Jacksonville Jaguars this season, fired head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien after they lost their first four games. The team has quarterback Deshaun Watson and left tackle Laremy Tunsil under long-term contracts, but it otherwise does not have a lot of young talent locked up.

Watson said even with the coaching change, he doesn’t think that the Texans are in a rebuilding mode, but rather just in a period where they’re “finding the right pieces to the puzzle.”

“I agree with J.J.,” Watson said. “I don’t want to sit here and change everything, but I do want to win a championship eventually.”

Watt has 99 career NFL sacks and is on pace to be the fifth-fastest player in NFL history to 100 sacks. The defensive end started his career with 74.5 sacks in his first five seasons, but after not missing a single game during that time, he spent time on injured reserve in three of the next four seasons.

Watt is the only player in NFL history to record 20 or more sacks in a season more than once. This season, Watt has three sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and three tackles for a loss.

Watt has one more season on the contract extension he signed in 2014, but none of the $17.5 million he is owed in 2021 is guaranteed. Watt has won three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards and the Texans have won six AFC South titles since he was drafted, but the team has only won four playoff games in his first nine seasons.

“Early in your career, you think life goes on forever,” Watt said. “Obviously, we win our first-ever division, our first-ever playoff game in my first year. In the second year we go 12-4 and you think that life’s going to be great and you’re just going to keep getting better and better. And then you go 2-14 and the reality of the business side of the NFL and the reality of all the things that come along with it hit you in the face. And you realize that oh, this isn’t all roses all the time. And then you look at the last seven years or so. And yeah, we won some division championships and that’s great, but that’s not the goal. That’s not the goal.

“And your goal can’t be to make the playoffs. Your goal can’t be to win one or two playoff games. If your goal is not to win the Super Bowl, and your goal is not to do everything in your power to make that happen, and make your organization in the best possible situation for that, then that’s not going to happen. So that is my goal. That’s why the work goes in. That’s why I fought back from all these injuries. Because that’s the goal, and that’s what I’m still working towards.”

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