The Kansas City Chiefs appear to be the NFL’s latest team with a COVID-19 outbreak.
According to reports from ESPN, the Chiefs will be placing three more players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Tuesday. Heading into today, the Chiefs had seven players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list including Chris Jones, Willie Gay Jr., Josh Gordon, Gehrig Dieter, Travis Kelce, Harrison Butker and Charvarius Ward. Now, they’ll potentially have ten players on the list by the end of the day, perhaps with more COVID positive tests on the way.
The status of a number of star players like Kelce, Hill, and Butker for Week 16 is now a big question.
More COVID issues in KC, which is becoming this week’s hot spot.
Chiefs’ WR Tyreek Hill, CB Rashad Fenton and TE Blake Bell are being placed on Reserve/COVID, sources tell @adamteicher and me.
Other players likely coming but as one source said, “it’s a mess.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 21, 2021
The Chiefs still seem to feel good about their chances of getting Gordon, Jones and Gay back for Week 16. But everything else seems up in the air for Kansas City at this current juncture.
The one saving grace here is that the changes to the COVID-19 protocols for vaccinated individuals could allow players to return sooner. Vaccinated, asymptomatic players need just one negative test result in order to return to the team in play. The question remains whether the timing of the new positive tests will allow these players to be activated in time.
We’ll get a chance to hear from Andy Reid tomorrow and learn more about the extent of these COVID-19 issues and what their plan is for Week 16 in the wake of their current outbreak.
