NFL To Move Broncos-Patriots Game To Monday
For a second straight week, a Patriots game will be moved from Sunday afternoon. The league has officially announced that their Week 5 game against the Broncos will be moved to Monday at 4pm CT/5pm ET.
Cam Newton learned he tested positive for COVID-19 on the Saturday before Week 4 game against the Chiefs, and Stephon Gilmore — who had dinner with Newton last Friday — tested positive Tuesday. As of Thursday, both players are believed to be asymptomatic. Patriots practice squad defensive tackle Bill Murray has also tested positive for the virus. No positive Patriots tests occurred Thursday.
While the Broncos have been able to practice at their facility this week, the Patriots remain barred from doing so because of their coronavirus issues. The Pats will conduct virtual sessions Friday as well, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. This makes the status of Week 5’s Denver-New England game murky.
The Titans saw a string of players test positive for the virus, over a period of more than a week, and their outbreak has continued through Thursday. The Titans’ issues with the virus could prompt the league to err on the side of caution to help prevent a Patriots spread.
But for now, the Patriots will have a second straight game moved from the late-afternoon Sunday window to Monday night. This game will precede the previously scheduled Monday-night game (Chargers-Saints).
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/8/20
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: J.J. Wilcox
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: RB Antonio Williams
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: WR Reggie Begelton
Houston Texans
- Signed: K Brett Maher
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: LB Najee Goode
- Released: CB Christian Angulo
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: WR Marcus Kemp
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: DT Lee Autry
New England Patriots
- Signed: TE Paul Quessenberry
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: WR Tommylee Lewis
New York Giants
- Signed: DB Sean Chandler
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: DB Dante Olson
NFL Not Considering Pausing Season
Wednesday morning brought more trouble for the NFL on the coronavirus front, with news of reigning Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore‘s positive test preceding more Titans positives. Sunday’s Titans-Bills game is firmly in doubt, while the Patriots’ Week 5 contest against the Broncos is no longer a certainty to occur.
The NFL has beefed up its COVID-19 protocols, but the league may stop there for the time being. The league is not considering implementing home-market bubbles by putting players in hotels, per Mark Maske of the Washington Post, who adds the NFL pausing its 101st season is also not a serious consideration.
Another Titans postponement would represent a significant schedule glitch, since the league has already moved Tennessee’s bye week — along with Pittsburgh’s — after the outbreak forced a Week 4 schedule change. Wednesday’s news of the additional COVID cases forced the Titans to pause their facility reopening, and the NFL and NFLPA are investigating a protocol-violating offsite workout Tennessee players allegedly conducted.
More Patriots positive tests will further push calls for the NFL to make bigger changes to its coronavirus effort. The Pats did not practice Wednesday, closing their facility. Cam Newton remains asymptomatic, and the Patriots’ round of tests prior to Gilmore’s positive all came back negative. But given the string of positive tests the Titans have encountered since their outbreak began, this is obviously a situation to monitor.
The NFL has considered pushing its playoff slate back to add a Week 18 makeup window, however. But a Titans hiatus beyond this week would create issues with that plan as well. The next few days figure to be a critical point for the league, which Maske notes believes its in-place protocols will work if they are followed.
Patriots’ Stephon Gilmore Tests Positive For COVID-19
Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore has tested positive for COVID-19, as NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. With that, the Patriots have called off Wednesday’s practice.
Gilmore’s positive tests comes on the heels of quarterback Cam Newton‘s diagnosis. In addition, practice squad defensive lineman Bill Murray has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, which means that he has either come in close contact with someone that has the coronavirus or has it himself.
The Chiefs — who played the Patriots on Monday night — had zero positive tests in Wednesday’s round. However, Gilmore was in close contact with numerous Chiefs players during the game, including star quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Gilmore was also on one of the Patriots’ two team planes, meaning that many more players and personnel members were potentially exposed.
Gilmore, 30, was the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. He’ll be ineligible to play on Sunday against the Broncos, per league protocol, and his diagnosis will likely have a ripple effect on the schedule. More importantly, the hope is that the virus has not spread and that Gilmore remains in good condition.
Latest On Patriots' COVID-19 Situation
Cam Newton was reported Monday to be asymptomatic after his positive COVID-19 test, and with nothing changing on that front Tuesday, the Patriots quarterback could return to practice as soon as Thursday. While no other players on New England’s active roster tested positive, the team placed practice squad defensive tackle Bill Murray on its reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday. Murray did not make the trip to Kansas City, per NBC Sports Boston’s Tom Curran (on Twitter), but Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio notes the young defender did stay at the hotel near Gillette Stadium with teammates previously.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/6/20
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted: RB Jonathan Ward
- Released: DB Curtis Riley
Cleveland Browns
- Placed on IR: WR KhaDarel Hodge
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: WR Reggie Begelton
New England Patriots
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Bill Murray; Murray was on Patriots’ practice squad
New York Giants
- Promoted: TE Eric Tomlinson
- Waived: S Sean Chandler
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted: DE Alex Barrett
- Waived: TE Charlie Taumoepeau
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: WR Cyril Grayson
Washington Football Team
- Released from IR: WR Jordan Veasy
Titans, Patriots Have No New COVID-19 Positives
The Titans received no new positive tests for the second straight day, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Patriots received good news as well — three days after Cam Newton‘s diagnosis, no one else on the team has tested positive for COVID-19 (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter).
With two straight days of zero positives, the Titans may be able to reopen their facilities on Wednesday. The Titans have been barred from holding in-person activities since Sept. 29. Later that week, the NFL postponed their scheduled Week 4 game against the Steelers.
The NFL is ramping up the pressure on teams to follow COVID-19 protocols and contain potential outbreaks. On Monday, the league office informed clubs that they could be forced to forfeit games if an outbreak occurs due to lax internal standards.
The Patriots’ game against the Chiefs was played as scheduled on Monday night, though things didn’t exactly go according to plan. With Brian Hoyer under center for the first three quarters and Jarrett Stidham finishing out the game, the Chiefs rolled to a 26-10 victory. Meanwhile, Newton was said to be asymptomatic as of Monday, a promising sign for his recovery and eventual return.
Patriots Place Sony Michel On IR, Activate Damien Harris
The Patriots are doing some major shuffling with their backfield. New England is placing running back Sony Michel on injured reserve and activating fellow running back Damien Harris off IR, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). The team also activated receiver Gunner Olszewski and placed safety Cody Davis on injured reserve.
With the new rules this year, Michel will have to miss at least three games before returning. It’s a bummer for Michel since he was coming off by far his best game of the season, when he rushed for 117 yards on only nine carries against the Raiders. He had been a disappointment through the first couple of weeks, and will now be hitting the shelf. Fortunately, Rapoport noted in a follow-up tweet that he was told Michel could be activated relatively quickly and it’s not a season-ending injury.
A third-round pick last year, Harris barely played as a rookie and was a healthy scratch most weeks. He reportedly had a strong summer though, and was looking like he might be the Patriots’ starter to open the year before a hand injury sent him to IR. Now he’s back and figures to be in the mix tonight against Kansas City, although with James White and Rex Burkhead also present it’s unclear how much run he’ll get.
That being said, with Michel hitting injured reserve there’s a clear lane for Harris to shine if he can make the most of the opportunity. With Cam Newton out due to COVID-19 and Brian Hoyer getting the start at quarterback, the Pats figure to be running the ball frequently on Monday night. A first-round pick in 2018, Michel impressed as a rookie before taking a step back last year. This quad injury he picked up against Las Vegas certainly isn’t what he needed to get back on track.
Olszewski, a 2019 UDFA, served as New England’s punt returner for half of last season. Davis is a core special teamer who has yet to play a defensive snap this season.
No Positive COVID-19 Tests For Titans, Chiefs, Patriots In Latest Round
The latest round of COVID-19 testing came back with zero positives for the Titans, Chiefs, and Patriots (Twitter links via Tracy Wolfson of CBS Sports, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter). With that, the Patriots and Chiefs are set to go ahead with tonight’s game, as planned. The Titans, meanwhile, are one step closer to reopening their facilities.
[RELATED: Patriots QB Cam Newton Tests Positive For COVID-19]
Per league protocols, the Titans will need at least two straight days of zero positive tests before reopening. If they get zero positives in Tuesday’s round of testing, they could reopen as soon as Wednesday. It’s encouraging progress — this round marked the first time in seven days that the Titans had zero positives. Previously, the organization had 18 positive tests across six days.
After New England’s Cam Newton and KC’s Jordan Ta’amu also tested positive, there was plenty of speculation that, like the Titans-Steelers Week 4 contest, the Patriots-Chiefs game slated for this week could be pushed back. For now, the game is on. After tonight, the Chiefs will have played three games in ten days. On the other hand, the Chiefs will face a Brian Hoyer-led New England offense tonight with Cam Newton on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Chiefs, Patriots To Play Monday Night
The Chiefs’ latest round of point-of-care COVID-19 tests came back negative, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter). Adam Schefter of ESPN.com had previously reported that the Patriots’ tests also came back negative (Twitter link), so the two clubs will play each other Monday night at 7:05pm ET.
This is obviously great news for the NFL, which is dealing with a significant number of positive tests on the Titans. After New England’s Cam Newton and KC’s Jordan Ta’amu also tested positive, there was plenty of speculation that, like the Titans-Steelers Week 4 contest, the Patriots-Chiefs game slated for this week could be pushed back. For now, it seems like this particular crisis has been averted.
Still, the Chiefs will now face the tall task of playing three games in 10 days, and if the Titans-Bills Week 5 game gets postponed, Buffalo will be coming off a Week 5 bye when it takes on KC. On the other hand, the Chiefs will face a Brian Hoyer-led New England offense tomorrow night, as Newton has now landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Although teams don’t usually undergo tests on gamedays, Schefter reports that both the Patriots and the Chiefs will be tested tomorrow morning (Twitter link). The Falcons-Packers game, the original Monday night contest, will be pushed back to 8:50pm ET.