The New Orleans Saints were sent in a minor panic late Saturday night upon learning that one of the players in their traveling party, fullback Michael Burton, had tested positive for COVID-19 before joining them on the team plane. Burton was immediately re-tested to check for a false positive, and the four players nearest to him in transit — including running back Alvin Kamara — were also given rapid point-of-care tests to see if any infections had spread.
But early Sunday morning The Athletic’s Katherine Terrell reported that Burton’s second test returned a negative result, which means he initially received a false positive. This was confirmed by NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, who reported that each of the other four Saints players also returned negative results.
It’s the fourth false positive test the Saints have received this year, after Deonte Harris, Kaden Elliss, and Chase Hansen were sidelined for a few days in training camp while awaiting additional test results. There were concerns that false positive results could hurt a team during the season, and they nearly did; but that’s just part of trying to play football amid a public health crisis.
So now we’re looking to see how the Saints play when they play against the Lions at Ford Field. Kickoff is scheduled for noon CT on Fox.
