Chiefs-Patriots postponement presents several tests for Kansas City
By Matt Conner
The Kansas City Chiefs will be tested in several ways after postponing their game against the Patriots.
With the posting of a single tweet on Saturday, the entire season seemed to take a hard sharp turn for the Kansas City Chiefs with the news that Cam Newton, starting quarterback for the New England Patriots, had tested positive for COVID-19. In that single news post, the scheduled game for Week 4 came into question and the upcoming schedule suddenly became a significant challenge. Then things only got worse.
Shortly after news that Newton had tested positive—thus needing to be quarantined—word leaked that the Chiefs had a player who also had a positive test in quarterback Jordan Ta’amu. While Ta’amu as a player isn’t someone who the Chiefs rely upon from week to week, it was a signal that the organizational hull had been breached.
If this situation is anything like the recent outbreak for the Tennessee Titans, things are going to get worse before they get better. Since last Sunday, the Titans have had 8 players and 8 staff members test positive for COVID-19, including rookie corner Kristian Fulton, wideout Adam Humphries and more. At this point, their Week 4 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers has been completely rescheduled to Week 7 which means the bye week is lost as well. Even then, it’s impossible to know if the Titans will be cleared to play in Week 5.
It’s impossible to say at this point whether or not the Chiefs will be able to play the Patriots as scheduled anytime in Week 4. It’s also unclear what the NFL might do with regards to their future schedule, and it’s also not known if any other coaches or staff members or players have also been in contact and thus need to be quarantined.
Questions and confusion reign, at this point, and that means the Chiefs are going to be tested in a number of ways.