Kyle Allen, Matt Ioannidis land on COVID-19 reserve list

ASHBURN — The Washington Football Team will place quarterback Kyle Allen and defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis on the COVID-19 reserve list Wednesday. Washington now has 12 players on the list — all of them placed within the last week — ahead of Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Allen’s placement is especially notable because starter Taylor Heinicke is banged up with knee and elbow injuries suffered in the team’s most recent loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Allen replaced Heinicke in the fourth quarter and went 4 of 9 for 53 yards. 

With Allen out, the team signed quarterback Jordan Ta’amu to the practice squad. Ta’amu spent time briefly with the team in the offseason and also overlapped with Heinicke in the XFL. Washington also has quarterback Kyle Shurmur, the son of Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, on the practice squad. 

Washington has now gone six straight days in which a player has landed on the reserve list. Landing on the list does not necessarily indicate a positive test, although only unvaccinated players are required to land on the list if deemed a close contact. Vaccinated players deemed close contacts can continue practicing and playing. 

Allen and Ioannidis have both spoken indoors to reporters without masks this season, an indicator that both are vaccinated.

Ioannidis’ addition weakens the team’s defensive line. Ioannidis was already expected to start Sunday with star defensive tackle Jonathan Allen testing positive on Monday.

The team is now down to five defensive linemen on the roster: Daron Payne, Shaka Toney, Daniel Wise, Nate Orchard and Bunmi Rotimi.

Of that group, only Payne had started a game before Week 14 — when the team’s virus outbreak first began. Washington has another three linemen — Gabe Wright, Hercules Mata’afa and David Bada — on the practice squad that it could look to activate for the Eagles game. 

Of the 11 starters on defense that started Week 1, only six remain.