TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh did not travel with the team to Houston and has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, the team announced Saturday.
Starters are expected to play extensively in Saturday night’s third and final preseason game at the Texans before playing in the NFL Kickoff Game on Thursday, Sept. 9.
Suh is the fourth Bucs player this week to be placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, joining kicker Ryan Succop and offensive linemen Nick Leverett and Earl Watford. All four players are vaccinated, sources told ESPN.
This comes three days after Bucs coach Bruce Arians announced that he was implementing stricter rules for his team while traveling, including no restaurants and no family visits — permissible activities for vaccinated individuals according to league protocols.
“There’s league rules and then there’s my rules. We ain’t going anywhere. We’re the same as last year,” Arians said Wednesday. “I don’t give a crap if they’re vaccinated or not. They ain’t going anywhere.”
The state of Florida has some of the highest COVID-19 case numbers in the country. On Friday, the Florida Department of Health reported 151,760 new cases last week, with an average of 21,680 new infections per day. NFL rules allow for teams to implement protocols, such as mandatory masks indoors, in known hotspots.
Vaccination status does make a difference in how quickly a player can return to action, though. Unlike unvaccinated players, who are subject to a 10-day quarantine should they test positive for COVID-19, vaccinated players need to be asymptomatic and return two negative test results 24 hours apart in order to return.
