Washington Football Team’s COVID-19 list grows to 18 players with 8 more additions Wednesday

ASHBURN, Va. — The Washington Football Team, already impacted by injuries, continues to add players to the reserve/COVID-19 list at a time when it can least afford to lose players.

Washington has placed 14 players on the COVID list this week — including eight on Wednesday — bringing its total to 18 as it prepares to play the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. Both teams are 6-7, with Washington owning the seventh and final playoff spot with four games remaining. Coach Ron Rivera said he has not heard any discussions about possibly canceling the game.

Of those 18 players, nine were possible starters Sunday. Washington also has 13 players on injured reserve — two players are on both lists — leaving them having to piecemeal a lineup for a game that impacts their playoff fate.

“We’re in meetings and one of the guys told me someone else had it, it’s like, ‘Here’s another one; there’s another one,'” Washington guard Brandon Scherff said. “Like coach [Ron] Rivera said, ‘Next man up.’ It’s a big opportunity for them to show everyone what they’ve got.”

Washington’s strength has been its defensive line, but as of now that group has been decimated. Of their top six linemen on the active roster, five are on the COVID list; only tackle Daron Payne remains fine.

Another lineman, end Montez Sweat, also is on the list but remains on injured reserve with a fractured jaw. Sweat would have played last week had he not tested positive for the coronavirus. He’s eligible to come off the list Saturday, but that would require him to then play in a game for the first time since Oct. 31 without the benefit of a practice.

Several players could come off the list later this week, including defensive ends James Smith-Williams and Casey Toohill, both of whom missed Sunday’s loss to Dallas. Defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Tim Settle also could come off the list. All four players must test negative twice in a 48-hour span to return. At least some of those players, including Allen and…