Patriots Stephon Gilmore tests positive for Covid-19

The Patriots have a problem.

On Wednesday, the NFL Network reported that cornerback Stephon Gilmore has tested positive for Covid-19. The Patriots will now have three players on the NFL’s Covid-19/Reserve list after Cam Newton tested positive last Saturday and practice squad defensive lineman Bill Murray was placed on the list on Tuesday.

The Patriots are acting quickly, but their game this weekend against the Denver Broncos could be in jeopardy.

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The Patriots have a problem.

On Wednesday, the NFL Network reported that cornerback Stephon Gilmore has tested positive for Covid-19. The Patriots will now have three players on the NFL’s Covid-19/Reserve list after Cam Newton tested positive last Saturday and practice squad defensive lineman Bill Murray was placed on the list on Tuesday.

The Patriots are acting quickly, but their game this weekend against the Denver Broncos could be in jeopardy.

Following the news about Gilmore, the Patriots canceled Wednesday’s practice and will hold virtual meetings instead. Player media interviews, set for Wednesday evening, have been canceled. Bill Belichick’s video conference with the media, set for 8:30 a.m., has also been postponed.

Gilmore played 100% of the Patriots defensive snaps in their Monday night loss to Kansas City. The cornerback finished with three tackles and a forced fumble. According to multiple reports, however, Gilmore was one of the players who was in close contact with Newton the previous Friday. On that day, Newton was tested for Covid in the morning and stayed in the building and practiced. Players didn’t learn of his positive result until Saturday morning.

The Patriots shutdown Gillette Stadium on Saturday and Sunday. Players, coaches and staff were tested multiple times per day – a rapid test and one that’s sent to a lab. The NFL pushed the Patriots-Chiefs game back to Monday. On that day, players and coaches did more testing. With no positive results, the Patriots sent two planes to Kansas City on Monday morning. One plane held players who were in close contact with Newton. According to multiple reports, Gilmore was on that plane.

The Patriots cornerback is arguably the best player in Foxboro. He’s the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. This weekend, however, the decision for the Patriots to even play put his life, his family’s and other players and staff in jeopardy.

Gilmore road on a bus on Monday morning to the airport and then got on a plane. That evening, he played football and shared a locker room with more teammates, coaches and staff. When the game was over, he road on the bus again and then took another flight back to Massachusetts before getting on another bus to go back to the stadium.

For the Patriots and the NFL, this is terrible news.

As Covid-19 has shown, the incubation period takes longer than a few days. The Patriots are just on small example of this. They had no positive test results on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. By Tuesday, they had a practice squad player, who didn’t travel to Kansas City, get placed on the Covid-19/Reserve list. By Wednesday, Gilmore tested positive after days of negative test results.

As it’s been seen in Tennessee, we don’t know when the Patriots will be in the clear. The Titans, who were up to 20 positive test results by Monday, had players and coaches all test negative on Tuesday. They were set to reopen their practice facility the next day, however, on Wednesday, the Titans saw two more positive tests and Tennessee kept their facility closed. This is already after their game against Pittsburgh was postponed.

For now, the Patriots game against the Denver Broncos is still happening at Gillette Stadium on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. If this contest happens, the Patriots will be without their best defensive player in Gilmore and perhaps their best offensive player in Newton.

Under new NFL rules, players who test positive for Covid-19 can return after five days if they’re asymptomatic and have two positive tests in a row. If the player shows symptoms, they’ll be out at least 10 days. For Newton, the earliest he could come back is Thursday, but it’s unknown if he’s had any positive tests this week.

For the Patriots, their bye week, scheduled for next week, couldn’t come soon enough.

mdaniels@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @MarkDanielsPJ