Falcons place OL Josh Andrews on reserve/COVID-19 list

The Falcons may be down a reserve along the offensive line when they face the Patriots on Thursday night, as they just announced that Josh Andrews will be placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Every player on the Falcons was reported as vaccinated coming into the season, so I’m making what I think is a safe assumption that Andrews is. If he has two negative tests separated by 24 hours, he can be activated from the list and re-join the team, which gives him an outside shot of suiting up Thursday night. We’ll see if he does.

Andrews has not had the best luck in 2021, as he appeared to have sewn up the left guard job coming out of training camp, only to break his hand and miss a few weeks. By that point rookie Jalen Mayfield taking the job and holding it ever since. Andrews is easily the team’s most experienced reserve on the interior, however, and the Falcons clearly think he can step in if injury strikes and hold down the fort. They’ll have to hope this is a very short stint on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Without Andrews, the Falcons will roll with rookie Drew Dalman and Colby Gossett as their reserve guard options against the Patriots, with Mayfield and Chris Lindstrom continuing to hold down the starting guard spots. We’ll hope Andrews is healthy and back with the team soon.