Steelers place 3 players on covid-19 list, including starters Joe Haden, Eric Ebron

Cornerback Joe Haden, tight end Eric Ebron and outside linebacker Cassius Marsh have been placed on the reserve/covid-19 list, meaning they won’t play for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the season finale Sunday at Cleveland and likely won’t return until after the team’s playoff opener next weekend.

ESPN reported that Haden tested positive. It is not known whether Ebron or Marsh tested positive or were placed on the list because of contact tracing.

Under the league’s covid protocol, players who test positive are forced to isolate for a minimum of 10 days, a window that would extend beyond the Jan. 9 or 10 date in which the Steelers will host a wild-card round playoff game at Heinz Field.

Messages posted to the verified Twitter account of Haden seemed to provide circumstantial confirmation of the news. One read, “I’m so (ticked) and sad at the same time….. stay safe out here.”

The Steelers (12-3) are scheduled to play at the Cleveland Browns (10-5) at 1 p.m. Sunday. Locked in to either the No. 2 or 3 seed in the AFC playoffs, several Steelers veterans were expected to sit out the game in an effort to avoid injury and fatigue. Haden was a prime candidate to be among that group.

Cameron Sutton would take Haden’s place in the base and common subpackage defense as an outside cornerback, with Justin Layne taking over on the outside when Sutton is summoned to play in the dime.

Vance McDonald and Kevin Rader, who was promoted from the practice squad Saturday, will be the available tight ends for the game against the Browns. Marsh, who signed with the Steelers in December, made his debut with the team last weekend against Indianapolis.

Alex Highsmith and Ola Adeniyi are expected to start at outside linebacker. T.J. Watt is among six starters who won’t make the trip to Cleveland as they rest for the playoffs. Jayrone Elliott is the only other outside linebacker on the 53-man roster.

The next domino to drop in regards to any positive test would be if contract tracing reveals any players deemed dangerous close contacts. Any determined as such would have a minimum five-day stint on the reserve/covid-19 list in which they would have to isolate from teammates away from the Steelers’ facility.

The Steelers previously have had six players test positive during the regular season (McDonald, Maurkice Pouncey, James Conner, Kevin Dotson, Vince Williams and Jerald Hawkins), with several others spending stints on the covid list as close contacts.

The Browns, meanwhile, have five players on the covid list. They will be without cornerback Denzel Ward, linebackers B.J. Goodson and Malcolm Smith, safety Andrew Sendejo and tight end Harrison Bryant. The Browns did activate safety Karl Joseph from the reserve/covid-19 list Saturday.

Also a potential first-round opponent of the Steelers, the Browns shut down their team facility Saturday for at least the third time this week after it was revealed a member of the coaching staff tested positive.

Offensive line coach Bill Callahan and assistant line coach Scott Peters will miss the game Sunday, the Browns announced. Wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea previously was listed as being unavailable to coach for the Browns.

The league has said there is no change in status for Sunday’s game.

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