The ways COVID-19 is already affecting the Detroit Lions roster

NFL rosters league-wide are seeing significant upheaval due to COVID-19 precautions, and Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions are no exception.

Back in March, Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz tested positive for novel coronavirus, and it shut down the entire NBA. Less than five months later, it barely made the news cycle when the same thing happened to quarterback Matthew Stafford of the Detroit Lions.

Unthinkable even at the end of 2019, this sort of thing has become a common daily occurrence. And decision-makers in every field are still attempting to strike a balance between the safety of citizens and getting the gutted economy back up and running.

With the world-altering virus that has turned daily life upside down for nearly half of the year at the forefront, NFL teams are doing everything in their power to ensure football in 2020.

Training facilities are basically being turned into hospital rooms with the number of hygienic precautions, in the hopes of safely getting camps underway. In the meantime, nearly every NFL team is already seeing their roster altered in one way or another due to the virus, with many more to come.

How will COVID precautions affect the Detroit Lions roster this year?

Two procedures that the league has put in place to attempt a season in the middle of a pandemic are a COVID-19 related reserve list, and an option for concerned players to sit out the season and still recoup part of their salaries. The Lions already have players in each of those camps, including several projected starters.

Here is a small summary of what these two policies mean for players and teams, and how the Lions roster has already been affected by it.