Patriots Player Explains What’s ‘Scary’ About Playing Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

The Tennessee Titans were the first NFL team to deal with a COVID-19 outbreak within their organization.

The New England Patriots are in jeopardy of becoming the second.

Cam Newton last Friday became the first Patriots player to contract the virus. His positive test, in part, pushed New England’s Week 4 matchup with the Chiefs in Kansas City from Sunday afternoon to Monday night. The Patriots have seen two more players test positive since their battle with the Chiefs: practice squad defensive lineman Bill Murray and reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore.

NFL Network’s Michael Giardi got in touch with a Patriots player after news of Gilmore’s positive test broke. The anonymous player explained what’s “scary” about playing amid the pandemic.

Text from a Patriots player: "here we go again." Concerned? "Look, we're better cared for than most" but adds "it's bringing this <bleep> home that's scary." @AroundTheNFL @nflnetwork

— Michael Giardi (@MikeGiardi) October 7, 2020

Gilmore’s positive test immediately cast uncertainty over the status of Sunday’s game between the Patriots and visiting Denver Broncos. But according to early reports, the current plan is for the Week 5 game at Gillette Stadium to go on as scheduled.

The situation, of course, could not be more fluid.