A day after being placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, Lions quarterback Jared Goff says he's feeling fine and hopes to play this weekend against the Falcons.
"I’m feeling good," Goff said Tuesday on the Karsch & Anderson Show. "It’s pretty much a mild cold. I'm feeling fine."
Goff said he had "some symptoms pop up" last Sunday night after the Lions' win over the Cardinals and got tested Monday morning to be safe. The NFL's new COVID protocols ask players to self-report symptoms in lieu of everyday testing.
"Sure enough, I was positive," said Goff.
Per the new protocols, Goff can return as soon as he's asymptomatic and has a certain viral load. Goff said he's "not quite sure" where his load stands at the moment, but "if you're 35 or above you're good to go."
"There’s a million ways you can try to get your number there by certain medications or certain vitamins, where you can expedite the process to test negative," he said.
Coming off his best game with the Lions in the Lions' best game of the season, Goff said his next step toward playing Sunday is to simply "take care of my body."
"Rest, sleep, hydration, medicine," he said. "Just take care of my body and get back to playing as soon as I can."
The irony, Goff joked, is that he had the flu two weeks ago prior to Detroit's loss to the Broncos and the NFL didn't bat an eye.
"I feel totally fine. It is interesting, though. I had the flu a couple weeks ago and they didn’t have a problem with me playing, but I’m not allowed to play with this," said Goff. "I tested flu positive and I was in the building the next day and there was no issue."
Goff went 21-26 for 216 yards and three touchdowns last Sunday in the Lions' blowout of the Cardinals. His passer rating of 139.7 was his best since Week 2 of last season. He's been a better quarterback since the addition of Josh Reynolds and the emergence of Amon-Ra St. Brown.
As for his chances of playing Sunday, Goff said, "I really don't know."
"I’ll test every day and we’ll find out," he said. "If I happen to test negative in the next couple days, then I'm sure there’s a chance, but I don’t know."