You knew this post was coming. It was obligatory, because when the Eagles put 12 players on the COVID list Monday, you had the conspiracy theorists pop up on social media:

“Did the Eagles do this on purpose? Are they gaming the system?”

We joked about the idea of the COVID party, i.e. everybody goes and gets sick this week, they recover during the meaningless Week 18, and then they’re good to go for the playoffs. No risk of guys missing the Wild Card round if they miss this week instead. Let’s get to spreading!

Here comes David Chao, aka Pro Football Doc, with an interesting take:

There are some fascinating things to consider in that video. This isn’t exactly QAnon; it’s just speculation based on the process by which NFL COVID testing is done and reported.

If you have more guys on the COVID list, then more players can come up from the practice squad as their replacements. This would theoretically let you rest more players for Saturday’s meaningless game against Dallas. Otherwise there aren’t enough bodies. You have to play some guys that you would prefer to sit. And it’s worth noting that every guy added to the list on Monday was a starter or played at least 25% of the in-game snaps.

​We also know that guys who test positive can’t be tested again for 90 days, so if the Eagles somehow win on the road and/or go on a playoff run, they get exemptions for a number of their COVID list guys. None of this would amount to cheating; it would just be working the system to your advantage. Nobody is doing anything illegal or against the rules, if we have it all straight.

It’s all very fascinating, and again, this is speculation, but we know the Eagles are smart. If there is value to be found by working the margins, they’ll do it.