Patriots-Broncos moved to next Sunday in light of Byron Cowart’s positive Covid-19 test

Update 10/11/2020: Patriots-Broncos moved to next Sunday in light of Byron Cowart’s positive Covid-19 test

The Patriots’ new Coronavirus case was not initially reported, but it seems as if defensive tackle Byron Cowart has contracted the virus. For more on this development, please click here.

Update 10/11/2020: Patriots-Broncos moved to next Sunday in light of New England’s latest Covid-19 case

With New England having another positive Covid-19 case — the fourth since last Friday — the NFL has decided to postpone the team’s game against Denver to next Sunday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The decision has not yet been made official by the NFL, but the league did announce that the game would be postponed.

The Denver Broncos at New England Patriots game scheduled for Monday, October 12 at 5:00 p.m. ET has been postponed. Details on a new game date and time will be announced shortly. Both teams will now have a Week 5 bye.

This decision was made to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel and in consultation with medical experts.

The Patriots are therefore now on their bye week before hosting the Broncos next week.

Update 10/11/2020: NFL still plans to move forward with Patriots-Broncos

Despite the Patriots having another player test positive for the Coronavirus late on Saturday, and subsequently shutting down their facilities, the NFL is planning to move forward with the game between New England and Denver: according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the next round of tests will give the league more clarity with its decision making process.

Update 10/11/2020: Patriots have another positive Covid-19 test

After three days without any new positive tests, the Patriots have received another one on Sunday morning — stemming from Saturday’s round of testing — as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. While the player in question has not been identified yet, this latest development is obviously discouraging and casts doubt on the game against Denver.

Original story 10/11/2020: Patriots’ facility shut down for a third time due to Covid-19, Monday’s game against the Broncos in question

After three straight days of positive developments following cornerback Stephon Gilmore’s positive Covid-19 test on Tuesday, the New England Patriots are in the spotlight yet again: according to reports by ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Field Yates, the league has decided to shut down the team’s facilities at Gillette Stadium on Sunday morning.

While no concrete reason for the shutdown has yet been announced or otherwise reported, the belief is that the Coronavirus has once more forced the league to take action —the third time this has happened since the Patriots’ first positive test last Friday: quarterback Cam Newton tested positive back then, prompting the team to work remotely before flying to play the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night.

The team took two planes to Missouri that day, with the aforementioned Stephon Gilmore part of a separated group of approximately 20 people that has been in close contact with Newton. Gilmore tested positive one day after the game, and was quickly isolated, while the NFL kept an eye on his own close contacts.

Whether or not one of those has forced another shutdown is not known at that time, but we do know that the Patriots’ game against the Denver Broncos — originally scheduled for today, but moved to Monday after Gilmore’s positive test — is very much in question at this point in time.