Tag: patriots chiefs covid

Patriots-Chiefs game officially rescheduled to Monday night

The Patriots-Chiefs game, originally scheduled for Sunday night, has been postponed one day after Cam Newton’s positive COVID test.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the marquee game between the Patriots and Chiefs, originally scheduled for Sunday night, has been rescheduled to Monday at 7:05 ET. The game was originally held in limbo after Patriots quarterback Cam Newton tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week.

“Late last night, we received notice that a Patriots player tested positive for COVID-19,” the Patriots said in a Saturday statement. The player immediately entered self-quarantine. Several additional players, coaches, and staff who have been in close contact with the player received point-of-care tests this morning, and all were negative for COVID-19.

“We are in close consultation with the NFL, as well as our team of independent doctors and specialists, and will follow their guidance regarding our scheduled trip to Kansas City and game against the Chiefs. The health and safety of our team, as well as out opponent, are of highest priority.”

Unlike the Saints, who had already traveled to Detroit for their Sunday game with the Lions, and were held in similar limbo when fullback Michael Burton first tested positive and then tested negative for COVID, the Patriots hadn’t traveled to Kansas City when Newton’s test result became clear. So, after no other positive tests from either team over the weekend (Chiefs backup quarterback Jordan Ta’amu also tested positive this week), the game is on.

Losing Newton for this game is obviously a big hit for the 2-1 Patriots; they will reportedly start veteran Brian Hoyer over Jarret Stidham in Newton’s stead. Through his first three games as Tom Brady’s replacement, Newton has completed 68.1% of his passes for 714 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions, adding 35 rushing attempts for 149 yards and four touchdowns.

On Wednesday, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was asked if the ongoing outbreak in the Tennessee Titans’ facility had him thinking differently about handling COVID in-house.

“Yeah, well we monitor everything every day. We don’t just do it when there’s a problem or something comes up somewhere else,” Belichick said, per CBS Boston. “We do it on a daily basis and make everyone — because this is everybody, it’s not just players, it’s players and coaches and staff and everybody else — make everyone aware of what … if we’re not doing something, or if we can do something better, then we talk to them about how we can do it better. So we try to monitor it the best we can. And we, I think, are pretty vigilant with — really all of us, it’s not any one person, but just all of us — keeping an eye on things that if anybody sees something that’s not the way we talked about it or maybe something that’s a little off or that we need to take a better look at, then we do that.”

Patriots add Cam Newton to COVID-19/reserve list; Newton will not play Sunday

per reports, Cam Newton has tested positive for COVID and is now out indefinitely.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Field Yates, Patriots quarterback Cam Newton has a positive COVID test and will not be available when New England takes on the Chiefs on Sunday. Schefter also reports that per a course, the Patriots have engaged in mass testing and re-testing, and there are no other positive tests in the organization.

That, of course, is subject to change.

“Late last night, we received notice that a Patriots player tested positive for COVID-19,” the team said in a Saturday statement. The player immediately entered self-quarantine. Several additional players, coaches, and staff who have been in close contact with the player received point-of-care tests this morning, and all were negative for COVID-19.

“We are in close consultation with the NFL, as well as our team of independent doctors and specialists, and will follow their guidance regarding our scheduled trip to Kansas City and game against the Chiefs. The health and safety of our team, as well as out opponent, are of highest priority.”

It’s obviously a massive blow for the Patriots as they prepare to defend their 2-1 record against Patrick Mahomes’ team. Through his first three games as Tom Brady’s replacement, Newton has completed 68.1% of his passes for 714 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions, adding 35 rushing attempts for 149 yards and four touchdowns.

On Wednesday, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was asked if the outbreak in the Tennessee Titans’ facility had him thinking differently about handling COVID in-house.

“Yeah, well we monitor everything every day. We don’t just do it when there’s a problem or something comes up somewhere else,” Belichick said, per CBS Boston. “We do it on a daily basis and make everyone — because this is everybody, it’s not just players, it’s players and coaches and staff and everybody else — make everyone aware of what … if we’re not doing something, or if we can do something better, then we talk to them about how we can do it better. So we try to monitor it the best we can. And we, I think, are pretty vigilant with — really all of us, it’s not any one person, but just all of us — keeping an eye on things that if anybody sees something that’s not the way we talked about it or maybe something that’s a little off or that we need to take a better look at, then we do that.”

Not that this is the fault of the Patriots’ organization per se; the recent outbreak in and around the White House is a better indicator of what happens when people don’t follow clear and obvious preventative methods. But the Patriots are now without their starting quarterback for the foreseeable future, and we don’t yet know if that will lead to further positive tests.