The New England Patriots are not playing in Week 5 after another member of their organization tested positive for the coronavirus on Saturday. While that is not the ideal scenario for the NFL, it may actually benefit the Patriots.
The NFL announced on Sunday that Monday’s game between the Patriots and Denver Broncos has been postponed. New England originally had a bye in Week 6, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the game will be played then instead. Denver’s originally scheduled game against the Miami Dolphins for Week 6 will be played later in the season.
Broncos-Patriots game is being moved to next Sunday, sources tell ESPN.
Broncos were supposed to play Miami; that won’t happen. That game is being rescheduled.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 11, 2020
Newton was the first member of the Patriots to test positive for COVID-19. His positive test was returned last Saturday, so it has been more than a week. As Tom Pelissero of NFL Network notes, it was unclear if the quarterback would have played on Monday. Now that there is an extra week between games, Newton has a better chance of getting cleared.
Players who are asymptomatic have a chance of returning within a week if they can produce a certain amount of negative coronavirus tests. Newton has indicated he is doing well, though it’s not known if he ever experienced any symptoms.
The Patriots desperately could have used Newton in their game against the Kansas City Chiefs last week. They entered halftime trailing just 6-3 despite horrible play from Brian Hoyer. Jarrett Stidham then took over in the second half and also struggled, throwing two interceptions. If Newton only ends up missing one game, that would be a silver lining for New England amid unfortunate circumstances.
