The Raiders’ Clelin Ferrell explains ‘tough’ 2 weeks after going on the COVID-19 list
Clelin Ferrell admits the past two weeks had been tough for him.
The second-year Las Vegas Raiders defensive end tested positive for the coronavirus and was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Nov. 17.
He had bigger worries when he found he was positive.
“I was worried about the potential people I could’ve affected, like my teammates or whoever else could’ve had it,” Ferrell said Wednesday. “Thankfully me and LJ (safety Lamarcus Joyner) are the only ones who really had it. That was tough. Also, I had to deal with the symptoms. I wasn’t asymptomatic. I had the symptoms and was like, ‘Woo, this thing is really real.’ That was pretty crazy. The hardest part was not playing.
“Obviously, losing a tough one to Kansas City that is always tough because obviously we win that game, we are in the forefront in the division. And watching last week, that was a big embarrassment, too.”
Ferrell was activated off the COVID-19 list on Nov. 26 and practiced that day. He made the trip to Atlanta but was inactive for the loss to the Falcons.
In nine games this season, Ferrell has 19 tackles, three tackle for loss and seven quarterback hits. He said he’ll be good to go Sunday when the Raiders visit the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.
“Body wise, I still maintain most of my strength, speed and quickness,” he said. “I was still working out on my own, but it’s different than football shape. My wind is still trying to get back. Still a little tired on the field, trying to get that back, but I’ll be fine for Sunday. I just get that extra conditioning and getting with my strength and conditioning coach, so I’ll be good.”
Brown, Joyner off COVID-19 list
The Raiders got some good news Wednesday when tackle Trent Brown and Joyner were activated off the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Running back Theo Riddick, who is on the practice squad, was activated from the COVID list.
“(Brown) did participate in individual periods which is a good sign,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. “I don’t believe he’s going to play in this game, but hopefully we can start talking about him returning to the lineup soon. Joyner did practice. There is, they call it a ramp up period, when you return from corona IR, whatever that thing is, so we ramped up Joyner. Try to ramp him up again tomorrow. We’ve been ramping up Cle Ferrell, and I’ll try to ramp up Raider Nation right here.”
Injury updates
Among Raiders not practicing on Wednesday were defensive tackles Maliek Collins (hamstring/ankle) and Maurice Hurst (ankle/calf).
Gruden said Collins will be place on the short-term injured reserve list, meaning he’ll miss at least three games.
Other Raiders not practicing were safety Johnathan Abram (knee), wide receiver Nelson Agholor (ankle), cornerback Damon Arnette (concussion/neck), guard Denzelle Good (ankle), running back Josh Jacobs (ankle) and linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski (ankle).
