Bears place Eddie Goldman and Artie Burns on the Reserve/COVID-19 list

One day after the NFL set a single day record with 36 players heading to the Reserve/COVID-19 list, the league had 29 more added today. The Chicago Bears had three players head to the list as nose tackle Eddie Goldman, cornerback Artie Burns, and outside linebacker Sam Kamara, who is on the practice squad, were all placed on it.

Yesterday the Bears added defensive lineman Mario Edwards Jr. to the list, and the Sun Times’ Patrick Finley is reporting that both Edwards and Goldman are unvaccinated. That means that neither will be able to play on Monday night against the Minnesota Vikings due to league quarantine protocols.

This is Goldman’s second stint on the Reserve/COVID-19 list this year. The other Bear currently on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, offensive tackle Elijah Wilkinson, is also unvaccinated, but he’s been on the list since November 26.

If Burns isn’t cleared in time for Monday night the Bears will be really shorthanded at defensive back. They are already missing Duke Shelley who is on injured reserve, DeAndre Houston-Carson is reported to be headed to IR, and Xavier Crawford is in concussion protocol. Even if Burns does test negative in time to play, there’s a good chance the Bears bring up one or both of their practice squad defensive backs for the game.

The Bears protected both DBs on their practice squad this week, rookie Thomas Graham Jr. and Dee Virgin, as well as wide out Isaiah Coulter and rookie outside linebacker Charles Snowden.

Teams can normally elevate up to two practice squad players for each game, but they can also flex up a practice squadder for each active player on the COVID list.

The Bears currently have one spot open on their 16-man practice squad, and once DHC heads to IR they’ll have one spot available on their 53-man active roster. I would expect a flurry of moves this week from not only the Bears, but the other teams affected by this rash of COVID cases hitting the NFL.