On Saturday we learned that Patriots quarterback Cam Newton and Chiefs practice squad QB Jordan Ta’amu have both tested positive for COVID-19 and have been placed on the reserve/COVID list.
“The New England-Kansas City game scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET Sunday will be rescheduled to Monday or Tuesday after positive COVID-19 tests on both teams,” the league announced in a statement. “In consultation with infectious disease experts, both clubs are working closely with the NFL and the NFLPA to evaluate multiple close contacts, perform additional testing and monitor developments. All decisions will be made with the health and safety of players, team and gameday personnel as our primary consideration.”
The reality is this was always going to be an issue for the NFL because they stopped testing players daily and were unable to move teams into a bubble.
Still, I suspect the NFL will tighten its testing procedures by shiting to daily testing and will continue to encourage its players to go straight home from practice. Will it work? That is the billion-dollar question that Roger Goodell and the league are asking.
Ultimately, the NFL might be forced to shift to an NBA style bubble if they are going to complete their season.
For now, I encourage everyone to soak up as much football as possible because this season might soon grind to a complete halt if the league can’t properly protect its players from Covid-19.
#Patriots players were alerted this morning to come in and get POC tests because a player had tested positive. That player is Cam Newton. The immediate results were no more positives. As we’ve seen in Tennessee, results often take days to manifest.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 3, 2020
