Chiefs might have dodged COVID scare with first-round bye

The Chiefs reportedly had a strength and conditioning coach test positive for COVID-19.

Nothing is official just yet, but NFL reporter Tom Pelissero quoted a source on Tuesday evening saying that the Kansas City Chiefs had a member of their training staff—longtime strength and conditioning coach Barry Rubin—test positive for COVID-19. Read the following to get the full report from Pelissero himself:

First, a bit on Rubin, who has been a part of the Chiefs training staff since Andy Reid‘s arrival. Rubin and his boss, Rick Burkholder, actually followed Reid over from his days with the Philadelphia Eagles. Burkholder has been with Reid for two decades and Rubin joined his staff back in Philly after serving with the Green Bay Packers for years as well. Incidentally, Rubin is a former college teammate of Chiefs legend Joe Delaney back at Northwestern State.

The Chiefs have faced this before when Burkholder, also the team’s Vice President of Sports Medicine and Performance, tested positive for COVID-19 back in November. Fortunately the Chiefs were able to limit contact and come through that section of the season just fine. Given that the Chiefs aren’t even in the building at this point, it seems like a stroke of good luck.

Imagine the opposite scenario, one in which the Chiefs learn on Tuesday of a playoff week that one of their primary trainers has come down with COVID. Given the necessary quarantine time, it would mean anyone who had high contact with him would likely need to be sheltered-in-place for the game, especially if the game was on a Saturday. It’s the same sort of quandary being faced by the Browns right now.

The playoffs are going to be a tough matchup each and every week even with rosters at full strength. A team who is forced to watch several players sit in this instance would only make things that much tougher. However it seems as if the stars have aligned in such a way that the Chiefs should be able to isolate Rubin and minimize any further spread. Here’s hoping Rubin returns to full health soon and that the Chiefs’ protocols and measures taken allow everyone to be safe.