Vikings have their first Reserve/COVID-19 designation of the 2021 season

On Wednesday, the Minnesota Vikings added cornerback Harrison Hand to the team’s Reserve/COVID-19 list.

A few weeks before the start of the 2021 regular season, the Minnesota Vikings made national headlines after quarterback Kirk Cousins had to miss time due to being regarded as a high-risk close-contact to a teammate that tested positive for COVID-19.

The Vikings weren’t in the headlines just because Cousins had to miss time though. It was more due to the press conference he had once he returned to the team after quarantining for five days.

Since then, things have been pretty quiet for Minnesota in terms of anything related to COVID-19 and the vaccine. However, that changed on Wednesday.

Minnesota Vikings add corner Harrison Hand to their Reserve/COVID-19 list

With reports of the Vikings having the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rate in the NFL coming out a few weeks ago, some probably assumed that the team was going to constantly have at least one player on their Reserve/COVID-19 list during each week of the 2021 season.

However, Minnesota hasn’t had any guys go on the list since they hit the field for their Week 1 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. That streak came to an end on Wednesday when the Vikings announced that cornerback Harrison Hand has been placed on the team’s Reserve/COVID-19 list.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Will Ragatz, Hand has not received a full dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Because of this, the Minnesota cornerback will have to miss a minimum of five days if he went on the list due to being a high-risk close-contact or at least 10 days if he tested positive for the virus.

Hand was inactive for the Vikings last week against the Arizona Cardinals due to a hamstring injury. But during the season-opener in Cincinnati, he was on the field for 22 special teams snaps, and he finished the contest with two tackles.