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Report: Cam Newton placed on COVID-19/reserve list, Pats-Chiefs postponed

New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton was added to the COVID-19/reserve list Saturday, and will not play in the team’s Week 4 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

A player can be placed on the COVID-19/reserve list without testing positive for coronavirus. The Patriots, however, confirmed a player tested positive for the virus. The team did not name the player who tested positive.

The team added it performed testing Saturday morning, which did not reveal any additional positive tests.

Will Patriots and Chiefs play in Week 4?

While the Patriots have not experienced any additional positive tests, the game against the Chiefs will not take place as planned. The NFL has postponed Sunday’s game after “positive COVID-19 tests on both teams.”

The league is hoping the Patriots and Chiefs can play either Monday or Tuesday. The Patriots were scheduled to travel to Kansas City on Saturday, but the flight is on standby for now.

NFL will wait to see if more positive tests emerge

Positive tests can take days to show up in testing. The Tennessee Titans are proof of that. The team has experienced new positive tests every day since Tuesday. It’s possible more Patriots players have the virus but have not tested positive yet.

It’s worth noting, however, that the Atlanta Falcons played in Week 3 despite a player — cornerback A.J. Terrell — being placed on the COVID-19/reserve list last Saturday. No other members of the Falcons or the Chicago Bears, who the Falcons played in Week 3, have tested positive for coronavirus since that game.

The NFL got some good news with the Patriots on that front, as all other players on the team had their tests come back negative, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

With the Titans’ outbreak already hinting at the fragility of the season, the last thing the NFL needs is multiple teams dealing with coronavirus outbreaks.

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