The New England Patriots had a new positive test result for the novel coronavirus and their facility was closed again Sunday morning, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The status of the Patriots’ already rescheduled game Monday evening against the Denver Broncos in Foxborough, Mass., was not immediately clear. ESPN is reporting that the game will be pushed to next week, when the Patriots are scheduled to have a bye. Denver’s scheduled game against Miami next week would need to be rescheduled.
The Patriots had returned to their facility Saturday after three days of working remotely. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore confirmed Wednesday via social media that he’d tested positive for the coronavirus. That came after quarterback Cam Newton tested positive last weekend. A person familiar with the testing result confirmed Newton’s positive test Oct. 3. The Patriots announced that day that they’d received a positive test result the previous night, without identifying the player.
The NFL pushed back the Patriots’ game from Sunday to Monday at 5 p.m. Eastern time. It was the second straight week that the Patriots were scheduled to play on a Monday because of a rescheduling. They lost at Kansas City last Monday night.
“One thing we’ve learned this year is that we all have to be able to adapt to changes and adjustments and make adjustments,” Patriots Coach Bill Belichick said in a video news conference Saturday morning. “So that’s what we’re gonna do . … We’re literally taking this, I wouldn’t even say day by day. It’s more hour by hour.”
The Patriots-Broncos game would not be easily rescheduled if it cannot be played by early this week. The Patriots are on their Week 6 bye after this game. The Broncos’ bye comes in Week 8.
The NFL has given preliminary consideration to adding a Week 18 to the 17-week regular season to accommodate games needing to be rescheduled, multiple people familiar with the deliberations have said.
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