Postponed Patriots-Kansas City game set for Monday night after latest round of coronavirus testing

The Patriots-Kansas City game originally scheduled for Sunday and postponed after New England quarterback Cam Newton tested positive for COVID-19 will now be played on Monday in Kansas City.

Newton tested positive for the coronavirus on Saturday morning, becoming the NFL’s first starting quarterback to contract the disease. All Patriots players, coaches and administrators were tested on Saturday and again on Sunday, and after all tests came back negative, the NFL re-scheduled the game for Monday at 7:05 p.m. The Patriots are expected to travel to Kansas City earlier Monday.

The Monday Night Football game between the Falcons and Packers in Green Bay will be pushed back to 8:50 p.m.

Newton and Kansas City practice squad quarterback Jordan Ta’amu, who also tested positive Saturday, have been placed on the reserve/COVID list and cannot return to their respective teams until they have two negative tests.

Meanwhile, the Titans have had 18 positive test results, including two more on Sunday. In all, nine Titans players and nine staff members have tested positive. The NFL re-scheduled Tennessee’s Week 4 game against the Steelers for Oct. 25 and moved the Steelers-Ravens game, originally scheduled for that day, to Nov. 1.

The NFL is expected to have a conference call on Monday involving all coaches and general managers to reinforce the importance of everyone following the strict COVID-19 protocols in place. The NFL and NFLPA are currently monitoring the Titans’ situation to see if there were violations of the protocols, in which case the team might face discipline. Four NFL coaches – Jon Gruden of the Raiders, Sean Payton of the Saints, Pete Carroll of the Seahawks and Kyle Shanahan of the 49ers – have been fined $100,000 each for failing to wear masks. In addition, their respective teams were fined $250,000. The fines are under appeal.

The league may consider the idea of adding a week to the end of the regular season in the event games need to be made up because of positive COVID-19 cases, but a decision on extending the season is not imminent.

Newton said on his Instagram account that he will take the time away the team to "get healthy and self reflect on the other amazing things that I should be grateful for."

By Bob Glauber

Special to NewsdayBobGlauber

Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”