EAGAN, Minn. — The Minnesota Vikings placed Todd Davis on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Friday after the veteran linebacker tested positive for the coronavirus, a league source told ESPN.
Davis was the second Vikings player this week to go on the reserve/COVID-19 list; the team designated rookie cornerback Cameron Dantzler on Wednesday. It remains unclear whether Dantzler has COVID-19 or came into close contact with someone infected with the virus.
The Vikings are now in intensive league protocols, according to coach Mike Zimmer, who said the team can still have walk-throughs, practices and virtual meetings.
Dantzler did not show up on the final injury report, so his status for Sunday’s game in Green Bay is in question. If not positive for COVID-19 or a high-risk contact, the rookie would need two negative test results taken within 24 hours of each other to be eligible to play.
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Minnesota is down to Kris Boyd, Mark Fields and rookies Jeff Gladney and Harrison Hand at cornerback for the Green Bay game after Holton Hill (foot) and Mike Hughes (neck) were ruled out for Week 8. The Vikings placed Hughes on injured reserve on Friday; he will be on the list for a minimum of three weeks.
League sources told ESPN this week that Hughes’ neck injury, suffered in the first half of the Atlanta game on Oct. 18, might lead to him being shut down for the season. Hughes has been limited to 3½ games in 2020 after an ACL tear his rookie season held him to 20 games from 2018 to 2019.
“It’s been difficult,” Zimmer said. “He hasn’t had much time on the field [with] the knee, the neck. It’s been one thing after another with him, unfortunately. He’s a good kid, he wants to play. … He’s just been hurt.”
While running back Dalvin Cook is expected to play in Green Bay after injuring his groin in Week 5, his status was changed to questionable shortly after the Vikings publicly announced the final injury report. Cook, a full participant in Friday’s practice, was not initially given an injury designation, and when asked about how the running back performed in practice this week, Zimmer said, “Good. He should be ready to go,” while noting Cook would likely have his normal workload.
The Packers already know they won’t have running back Aaron Jones and cornerback Kevin King, and they are still not sure who will kick for them on Sunday against the Vikings.
Mason Crosby, who has the longest active streak of consecutive games played among kickers (214 games), has an injury to his left calf (non-kicking leg) and his back. He did not practice Wednesday and Thursday but did some limited work Friday and is listed as questionable.
Rookie Nick Vogel is waiting in the wings if needed. Punter JK Scott also has worked on field goals this week, but he is the regular holder and the Packers don’t have a backup listed on their depth chart.
ESPN’s Rob Demovsky contributed to this report.
X-rays taken this week revealed that Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew has multiple fractures and a strained ligament in his right thumb, league sources told ESPN.
Minshew has had discomfort in his thumb since Jacksonville’s Oct. 11 game at Houston, a source told ESPN. He did not tell the team about the pain until after the last game, a 39-29 loss to the Chargers, which led to a postgame X-ray in Los Angeles.
The Jaguars (1-6) didn’t know about Minshew’s injury until this week, per sources.
It is uncertain whether Minshew will be able to play when Jacksonville returns from its bye to host the Texans.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The New York Jets say they have no plans to trade defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, the third overall pick in 2019 whose name has been circulated in media speculation.
“He’s going to be here. Those [stories] are false,” coach Adam Gase said Wednesday. “I talked to Quinnen. I have not heard one thing from anybody in the front office about him being traded. … There’s nothing to that. It’s false.”
General manager Joe Douglas also spoke to Williams and his agent to put to rest the rumors. The NFL trade deadline is 4 p.m. ET Tuesday.
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Williams has attracted interest, as he did at last year’s trade deadline, but the Jets (0-7) — the NFL’s only winless team — view him as a piece to their foundation.
The Jets have made two recent trades, dealing nose tackle Steve McLendon and linebacker Jordan Willis, fueling the perception they are in fire-sale mode. Douglas isn’t averse to trading big names, as he dealt star safety Jamal Adams before training camp, but that involved a contract dispute.
Williams’ contract isn’t an issue. He has two years remaining on his rookie contract, plus a fifth-year option, and isn’t eligible for a new deal until after the 2021 season.
The 22-year-old Williams hasn’t lived up to draft expectations but has elevated his play this season. He leads the team with three sacks and is coming off a strong performance against the Buffalo Bills.
The Jets like his upside, although they want to see more consistency.
“There have been some times where I really see him show up,” Gase said. “It’s the consistency of down in and down out, max effort, playmaking ability, finishing the plays and doing the right thing, not having roughing-the-passer penalties. That’s the maturation of a young player.”
Williams has been flagged three times for roughing the passer and once for a face mask, which proved costly in a loss to the Denver Broncos.
“Honestly I just don’t read it, man,” Williams told SiriusXM radio of the trade rumors. “Just don’t look at it, just don’t read it. You just don’t really listen to it, just don’t really pay it any attention, man.”