The Saints' final Week 16 injury report was one of the shortest of the season, but that's for a very specific reason.
Three players were listed as questionable in LT Terron Armstead (knee), DE Marcus Davenport (shoulder/knee) and Tre'Quan Smith (shoulder), and were listed as questionable. All three were listed as limited participants, thought that's just a projection as neither team held a practice on Christmas day.
Safety Marcus Williams was also listed with a shoulder injury but was a full participant throughout the week and has no gameday designation, indicating he'll play.
Armstead's questionable tag is a somewhat positive sign if he's able to go for the first time since Week 14.
But that list is notably short because of the players who aren't eligible to be on it. Defensive end Carl Granderson was added to the COVID list Saturday afternoon, meaning 16 players are unavailable to play as of two days before the Monday Night Football showdown against the Dolphins. Miami has several players listed on its injury report, but all were projected as full participants in practice and none have gameday designations.
That list includes several key players, highlighted by quarterbacks Taysom Hill and Trevor Siemian, linebacker Demario Davis, safety Malcolm Jenkins, tight ends Juwan Johnson and Adam Trautman, and several others. The Saints also have three assistant coaches on the COVID list after this week's outbreak.
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As of Saturday there hadn't been reports of players returning from their COVID absence, but there's still a chance. Fully vaccinated players must be asymptomatic for a minimum of 24 hours and log two negative tests before returning to action, but those tests can occur concurrently. With the team not having to factor in travel, it's possible a player could test negative as late as Monday morning and still be active for the game.
That's no solace for the Saints, however, who must prepare for the possibility that several key players and multiple NFL ironmen will not be in action. If Davis and Jenkins miss the game, the NFL's longest active streak for consecutive games played by a non-kicker would end with Davis, and the longest active streak of consecutive starts would end with Jenkins. Defensive end Cam Jordan held both of those marks until he missed Week 14 with COVID, the first game missed in his 11-year NFL career.
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