The Indianapolis Colts had some big news break early Friday morning when they announced that the practice facility would be closed after being informed of several positive COVID-19 tests.
In what has been the first issue with the virus since the league began testing back in July, this is certainly a surprise but could have some big implications moving forward.
So what does this mean for the Colts after being informed of several positive cases of COVID-19?
As of early Friday morning, the Colts are in the process of confirming those positive tests. There have been false positives before, so there is always a chance they come back negative. But the team is working to confirm those tests so we won’t know a whole lot until they find out more information.
As the team tries to confirm the positive tests, they will be working remotely. Per NFL protocol, the practice facility on West 56th Street will be shut down until the team gets more information on the tests.
This could certainly have an impact on the Week 6 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals. Being so close to the game, the league may have to make changes to the schedule if several cases have been confirmed. They could move Sunday’s game to Monday or Tuesday while they await more information and tests, but that’s merely speculation at this point.
The Colts have their bye in Week 7 while the Bengals have theirs in Week 9. If the Colts do have several positive cases and cannot play this week, the league may have to do more shuffling to the schedule, something they have already had to do multiple times.
We’ve seen this situation get to the point where the game has to be rescheduled. The Titans had an outbreak in Week 4, which caused them to go on their bye week early and postpone their game against the Steelers. The Patriots didn’t seem to have an outbreak but their Week 5 game against the Broncos got pushed to Week 6.
So while the Colts await more information and confirmation of these positive tests, they will be working remotely away from the facility. We will keep you updated as the information rolls in, but this is certainly a situation worth monitoring closely.