The United States government is currently reeling from a wide swath of coronavirus cases in the White House, starting with president Donald Trump. But the NFL is currently dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak of its own, and Saturday morning brought word that it had hit the New England Patriots as well.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Saturday that Patriots quarterback Cam Newton had tested positive, presumably for COVID-19 though he did not initially report it specifically. According to the tweet, Newton would not play against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
Patriots’ QB Cam Newton tested positive and is out for Sunday’s game vs. Kansas City, per @FieldYates and me.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 3, 2020
It’s unclear if there is a true outbreak in New England like the Tennessee Titans are experiencing, which has forced the team to postpone its game against the Pittsburgh Steelers from Sunday to later in the season. The Patriots soon put out a statement about the reported positive case, saying that player — presumably Newton — was in quarantine.
Statement from the New England Patriots. pic.twitter.com/eSTUukh5vl
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 3, 2020
As Schefter reported Saturday, the Patriots were scheduled to fly to Kansas City on Saturday but delayed the trip due to more testing.
Patriots were scheduled to leave for KC at about 1 ET; trip now is on standby as they await more test results and guidance from the NFL.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 3, 2020
I’m told the Patriots sent the entire team home this morning and told the players to stay by their phones to find out when they are traveling.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) October 3, 2020
Word soon came that Newton wasn’t the only player who had tested positive, as a Chiefs practice squad player also had a positive test on Saturday afternoon.
It’s not just New England: #Chiefs practice squad QB Jordan Ta'amu has tested positive for COVID-19 and is being added to the reserve list, per me and @MikeGarafolo.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 3, 2020
It was initially unclear the status of Sunday’s game: despite some NFL reporters insisting initially that the case was “isolated,” that’s simply not how coronavirus works and starting with that assumption can be dangerous as community spread of the virus may not create new, detectable cases until several days after exposure. That’s exactly the situation that appears to be playing out in the White House as well as with the Titans, who saw their rash of cases postpone a game earlier in the week. On Saturday, more cases on the Titans team and staff were reported, further putting into doubt their next scheduled game against the Buffalo Bills next Sunday.
