According to a report from Mike Reiss and Field Yates, the New England Patriots have another confirmed COVID-19 positive and will be shutting down the facility on Friday. There is also a second test they are awaiting confirmation on.
If the game could not be played Sunday, the NFL would be presented with its toughest scheduling challenge to date. Both teams, the Patriots and Broncos, had their byes last weekend and bye flexibility is gone. https://t.co/HMCsLPbd8l
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 16, 2020
This news comes just a day after Cam Newton returned to practice as the team was set to play the Denver Broncos on Sunday. The NFL imposed a Bye Week on both teams in Week 5 and rescheduled games to get them in this week. That now seems in jeopardy.
We’ll likely see this game postponed for now to Monday or Tuesday, but ultimately we could see this game moved to a theoretical Week 18 at the end of the season. Which would mean two straight Bye Weeks for the Broncos.
Denver was scheduled to fly out to New England on Saturday. They will likely be delaying that flight. The Broncos do have a practice scheduled to take place on Friday.
More on this story as it develops.