Bucs' Will Gholston Placed on COVID-19 List; Contracted Virus During Offseason

Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive lineman Will Gholston was added to the league's COVID-19 list on Wednesday, and in a series of tweets sent Wednesday afternoon, the seven-year Buccaneer offered some clarification to his situation. 

Gholston tweeted that he tested positive for the virus during the offseason, but was placed on the list as a precaution this week after he was exposed to someone who tested positive. According to Gholston, that person is not a member of the Buccaneers organization.

In a second tweet, Gholston said he is continuing to test for the COVID-19 daily and expects to return to the team to play Sunday night against the New Orleans Saints. He is self-isolating for "the next few days for precautionary reasons only." 

When Gholston contracted the virus during the offseason, he had "relatively minimal symptoms," he said. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the length of time a person who has recovered from COVID-19 remains immune is still being investigated, but "people appear to become susceptible to reinfection around 90 days after onset of infection."

A fourth-round pick by Tampa Bay in 2013 out of Michigan State, Gholston has started seven of eight games he has appeared in this season for the 6-2 Buccaneers, posting 21 tackles, a pair of sacks and a career-best 11 quarterback hits on a defense that allows a league-best 70.4 yards per game. 

Gholston is the first Tampa Bay player to move to the COVID-19 list during the regular season, though the team had three running backs on the list during training camp—Ke'Shawn Vaugn, Raymond Calais and Aca'Cedric Ware (h/t Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com).