The Cardinals placed starting center Rodney Hudson on the Reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday, in a move that seemed inevitable given the breakout of Covid positive tests across the league this week.
Not that Hudson specifically would end up on the list, but the Cards were one of only a few teams that hadn't had any players end up sidelined since Monday. The Browns, for instance, have 20 players currently on the Covid list, and there are more than 100 NFL players total that have gone on the list this week.
It has gotten so bad league-wide that the NFL reinstituted many of the same protocols from 2020 -- masking indoors, all virtual meetings, no visitors or visiting establishments on road trips among them.
The NFL also has put in new return-to-play rules in place, so now, as long as a player is asymptomatic, he can return after one negative test instead of two.
"We're entering a new phase of the pandemic," NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills told reporters Thursday.
If Hudson is unavailable Sunday for the Lions game, Marcus Henry has been listed as the backup, although the Cardinals could use Max Garcia and slide Josh Jones back into the lineup at guard. It was Garcia who played for Hudson earlier this season when Hudson was out with a ribs injury.
