Cam Newton Reportedly Has COVID-19, Sunday's Patriots Game Postponed

 

The team confirmed in a statement only that "a Patriots player" tested positive and has entered self-quarantine. They did not name the player. The Patriots had been planning to fly to Kansas City on Saturday afternoon. Instead, players left Gillette Stadium to await further instructions. 

The Patriots had a virtual team meeting on Saturday night, and the players were told, pending negative test results, the current plan is to play the Chiefs on Monday. All other Patriots team test results came back negative Saturday night, a source told Schefter. The NFL still needs to get the Chiefs' test results, a source told Schefter, but this was what the league needed and wanted to see after a chaotic day in New England.

The NFL announced around noon on Saturday that the game has been postponed and will now be played on Monday or Tuesday instead. The league said the move followed "positive COVID-19 tests on both teams.'' 

“It's a pandemic, so things can happen,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said earlier this week, when news emerged from Tennessee about an outbreak with the Titans, which has forced their game against Pittsburgh to be postponed. 

"But you've got to take as many precautionary measures as you can and try to stick with them, and if something happens like that, then you’ve got to work through that. We’ve all been coached up on it, and we’re all trying to do the best we possibly can with it.” 

What is certain already about this week’s game is that if it happens, Cam Newton will not be playing. Looking ahead, though, when might the quarterback be able to return to action?

That much depends on a number of factors, the most significant of which is obviously whether or not the quarterback exhibits symptoms. If Newton gets sick, then all bets are off from a football standpoint, as the quarterback’s health rises to the utmost level of importance.

But if Newton is asymptomatic — like roughly 45 percent of people who test positive are — then the road back to the football field will be mapped out by the NFL’s protocols.

Per the NFL’s rules, an asymptomatic player who tests positive can return to the team’s facility after 10 days have passed since the initial positive test. For Newton, that date would be Monday, Oct. 12 — meaning he’d have to miss next weekend’s game against the Broncos.

However, that won’t necessarily be the case. Newton could return to the facility sooner if he tests negative in two separate tests, taken at least 24 hours apart. If he does that, then he can return after five days have passed since the initial positive test, provided those two PCR tests come back negative.

Given that no details have been reported about Newton’s status, it’s unclear whether or not he’s experienced any symptoms. If Newton does experience symptoms, then he’s not allowed to return to the facility until at least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared and at least 72 hours have passed since he last experienced symptoms. In that case, if Newton develops symptoms at any point, it will essentially reset the clock and set up a new 10-day window for his potential return.

And whether he is symptomatic or asymptomatic, Newton will need to be cleared by the Patriots’ doctor before returning.

All of those rules apply to simply returning to the building. As for returning to the field, there’s an additional process.

If Newton experiences mild symptoms at any point, then upon his return to the Patriots’ facility, he’ll need to complete “at least a three-day progressive exercise protocol” with the team’s medical staff.

If Newton experiences “moderate to severe” symptoms, he’ll have to complete an exercise protocol for a recommended seven days “or for a period equal to twice the duration of the hospitalization.”

If that becomes the case, then of course Newton will not be returning any time soon. Really, the return-to-play protocols will only be of much concern if Newton is asymptomatic.

If Newton is asymptomatic and tests negative twice in the coming days, then he could possibly play on Oct. 11 vs. Denver. If not, he’ll be unable to return until after the Patriots’ bye week, with the team getting back to action on Oct. 25 at home against the 49ers.

As with anything coronavirus-related, there’s much that’s yet to be determined with Newton’s status. But in a best-case scenario where he’s asymptomatic and no other Patriots test positive, a return for the Broncos game in Week 5 cannot yet be ruled out.