Latest Dolphin to land on reserve/COVID-19 should serve as a warning to rest of league
The Dolphins’ Malcolm Perry on Monday became a cautionary tale for every team n the NFL:
Any player, at any time, can be lost from the roster due to coronavirus — even those who have recovered from the illness and been symptom-free for weeks.
Perry became the seventh — and most unexpected Dolphin — to be placed on the NFL’s newly created reserve/COVID-19 list Monday.
Why the news was so surprising: Last week he had been symptom-free for at least 14 days after testing positive for the virus earlier in the summer.
In other words, while the body creates antibodies, there is no immunity from the league’s stringent COVID-19 protocol.
Perry, who earlier this summer donated convalescent antibody plasma, has either tested positive again for COVID-19 or has come in close contact with someone who has. The NFL prohibits the Dolphins from disclosing why Perry went on the list.
While rare, there are instances of people testing positive again weeks or months after recovery; researchers believe antibodies begin to wane after a couple of months.
In announcing his recovery and decision to donate plasma last week, Perry said that he “was surprised initially [by the positive test] but was happy because I was presented with the opportunity to give back and donate plasma and help people in need. Being able to give back to people who weren’t fortunate enough to react the same way you did to the virus and give back to the community was important.”
If Perry comes off the reserve list quickly, it suggests that he either did not positive this week or if he did, it was a false result.
Either way, it should be a bit concerning for teams around the league. Even players they assume would be at little or no risk of being lost to reserve/COVID-19 during the season can end up on the list, and potentially miss games.
Meanwhile, Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker was taken off reserve/COVID-19 Monday, suggesting he either never had COVID-19 or has since recovered.
One other Dolphins roster move Monday: They claimed cornerback Picasso Nelson Jr. off waivers. The Southern Miss product spent time on the Colts’ practice squad last year.
This story was originally published August 3, 2020 at 5:38 PM.
