Gerald Everett is Seahawks’ first confirmed case of COVID-19 of the pandemic
The Seahawks have their first confirmed positive case of COVID-19.
Seattle placed starting tight end Gerald Everett on the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday.
Coach Pete Carroll said recently, after a flurry of Seahawks player transactions at the end of the preseason, all but two players were vaccinated or in the process of getting the two-shot vaccine.
Vaccinated players who test positive and do not have symptoms of the coronavirus must have two negative tests within 24 hours to be able to return to the roster, per the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols for 2021.
Unvaccinated players who test positive must have go into isolation for 10 days, the same as the league’s protocols for 2020. Those positive players will then be allowed to return to the team and practice if asymptomatic.
So, if Everett is vaccinated (as odds are he is), he must test negative Thursday and again Friday to travel with the Seahawks (1-2) Saturday and play Sunday at San Francisco (2-1).
If he’s not vaccinated, he will miss the 49ers game, plus Seattle’s next one four days later next Thursday night at home against the Los Angeles Rams.
Everett posted online on his Twitter account that he will “Be back soon.”
For now, former Washington Husky Will Dissly becomes the first tight end for the Seahawks’ game Sunday at the 49ers.
The Seahawks brought back tight end Colby Parkinson from injured reserve Wednesday. They also signed 25-year-old former New England Patriots tight end Ryan Izzo to the practice squad.
The news shows even the 70-year-old Carroll’s vigilance on COVID-19 the last two years can’t make the team isolated from everyday society.
“We are always working at it. It’s a work in progress,” Carroll said Wednesday. “We are trying to do it as well as we can possibly do it.
“We test Mondays and Wednesdays here, and fortunately that helps us.”
The Seahawks were the only NFL team without a confirmed positive case of COVID-19 last year.
The team had a false positive test for wide receiver John Ursua in the 2020 preseason. Defensive tackle Bryan Mone, offensive tackle Brandon Shell and defensive back Damarious Randall went on the reserve/COVID-19 briefly later last season as close contacts to a known positive case elsewhere.
Reserve defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard went on the COVID-19 list the morning of the Seahawks’ wild-card playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams in January. Bullard also did not test positive himself for the coronavirus.
Carroll set up vaccination drives at the team facility in Renton for players and their families and significant others during the offseason. The coach also brought in medical experts to talk to the players about the science behind vaccinations and the public good of getting vaccinated, beyond just the practical matter of being available for the team to train and play this season.
This story was originally published September 29, 2021 at 1:56 PM with the headline "Gerald Everett is Seahawks’ first confirmed case of COVID-19 of the pandemic."
