Texans Place LB Zach Cunningham & DL Ross Blacklock On COVID-19 List

The Houston Texans announced Friday that they’ve placed LB Zach Cunningham and DL Ross Blacklock on the COVID-19 list on Friday. 

Aaron Wilson reports that Blacklock tested positive for COVID-19 and CUnningham is just a close contact. 

Cunningham, 26, is a former second-round pick of the Texans back in 2017. He was in the final year of his four-year, $4.471 million contract and set to make a base salary of $1.07 million for the 2020 season when he signed a four-year, $58 million extension. 

Cunningham was set to make base salaries of $8.5 million and $10 million over the next two seasons when he agreed to a restructured contract back in March to convert $7.51 million of his 2021 base salary into a signing bonus and prorated it over the remaining four years of his deal. 

In 2021, Cunningham has appeared in three games and recorded 28 total tackles, no tackles for loss, and one pass defense. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 71 overall linebacker out of 78 players. 

Blacklock, 22, is a former second-round pick by the Texans in the 2020 NFL Draft. He’s in the second year of a four-year, $7,947,441 rookie contract that included a $3,339,957 signing bonus. 

In 2021, Blacklock has appeared in three games and recorded five tackles, no tackles for loss, and one forced fumble.