On Friday, quarterback Cam Newton became the first New England Patriots player to test positive for COVID-19.
Now, Sunday’s game between the Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs has been postponed.
​”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 NFL announced Saturday 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.”
News of Newton’s positive test, which a source confirmed to NESN.com’s Doug Kyed, broke Saturday morning, roughly two hours before the Patriots were scheduled to leave for Kansas City.
If the game is played this week, Brian Hoyer is expected to start at quarterback for New England. Hoyer has been Newton’s primary backup this season while Jarrett Stidham has been a healthy scratch for all three games.
Chiefs practice squad quarterback Jordan Ta’amu reportedly also tested positive for COVID-19.
