Which franchise has been the worst hit by COVID in 2021 NFL season?

As the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus dashes all hopes of a quick end to the pandemic, NFL teams are dealing with personnel who have tested positive. Teams are struggling to put out full strength rosters, and games have had to be postponed due to the continuing havoc COVID is visiting on the league. Some teams have ended up losing key players to COVID at critical times, skewing competitive fairness.

But not all teams have had to face the same magnitude of issues due to COVID. From the beginning of the 2021 NFL season until the end of Week 16, we list the total number of players for each team that has tested positive for COVID.

NFL franchises measured by total players sent to COVID reserve list in 2021

Houston Texans v Cleveland Browns

So far, in the 2021 NFL season, 797 players have made it to the COVID reserve list, including some who have been placed there more than once. The average count of all 32 teams is 24.9 players placed on the COVID reserve list per average over the season per team, measured till Week 16.

Fifteen teams have placed more players than average on the list, with the Cleveland Browns leading the way with 40 players. They are the only team to touch the 40 mark so far. Their first victim was Lawrence Cager, and Elijah Lee and Alex Taylor are the latest victims.

Following close behind are the two Los Angeles teams. The Chargers have had 39 players placed on the COVID reserve list during the season, closely followed by the Rams with 38. The capital of the country is not far behind with the Washington Football Team following them with 37. Then, there is a small gap between them and the Jets who are at 34. In total, including the teams above, nine teams have sent more than 30 players to the COVID reserve list in total.

There are six teams that are above average but below 30, including prospective postseason contenders like the Green Bay Packers and the Indianapolis Colts. There are a further seven teams who have had 20 or more players placed onto the COVID reserve list but are below the league average. Teams, such as the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins, fall in this category.

A further nine teams are between 14 and 19, and this includes teams vying for the playoffs such as the Arizona Cardinals, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The team, however, that has relatively emerged unscathed are the 49ers, who have only had four players placed on the COVID reserve list so far.

For those interested, the full tabulation follows below.

S.No.	Team	Count
1	Browns	40
2	Chargers	39
3	Rams	38
4	Washington	37
5	Jets	34
6	Texans	33
7	Saints	33
8	Cowboys	31
9	Titans	31
10	Packers	29
11	Ravens	28
12	Jaguars	28
13	Bears	27
14	Vikings	27
15	Colts	26
16	Panthers	24
17	Dolphins	24
18	Giants	24
19	Bills	23
20	Lions	23
21	Raiders	23
22	Broncos	20
23	Cardinals	19
24	Falcons	19
25	Chiefs	19
26	Patriots	18
27	Steelers	18
28	Eagles	16
29	Bengals	14
30	Seahawks	14
31	Buccaneers	14
32	49ers	4