The Kansas City Chiefs could be without star DT Chris Jones against the Carolina Panthers in Week 9.
Jones was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Thursday according to the NFL’s official transaction report. Jones was listed as a limited participant in practice with a non-injury designation.
This comes following the report that Chiefs VP of Sports Medicine and Performance, Rick Burkholder, had tested positive for COVID-19. Jones had also been dealing with a nagging groin injury, so it’s possible that he was identified as a close contact of Burkholder and didn’t necessarily test positive for the virus himself.
If Jones falls into the high-risk close contact category, he’d be required to spend a minimum of five days on the reserve/COVID-19 list according to NFL’s enhanced protocols and regulations. In this scenario, with just three days to go until the Chiefs and Panthers play, Jones would likely miss the upcoming Week 9 game. It ultimately depends on when the five-day timeline would begin. If the high-risk contact occurred earlier in the week, Jones still has a chance to play on Sunday, so long as he continues to test negative for COVID-19.
As of now, the game between Carolina and Kansas City is going on as scheduled. Jones was the only Chiefs player to go on the reserve/COVID-19 list today. He becomes the second player on the 53-man roster to spend time on the list, with FB Anthony Sherman recently activated from the list.
