Stephon Gilmore tests positive for COVID-19: Impact on Patriots

Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore has tested positive for COVID-19.

After the Week 4 contest against the Kansas City Chiefs was in question for the New England Patriots after having their first COVID-19 scare of the year, that concern has picked back up now in Week 5.

Last weekend, a day before the originally scheduled Sunday Night Football game between New England and Kansas City, Patriots quarterback Cam Newton tested positive for COVID-19 and as a result postponed that Week 4 matchup to Monday Night Football just a night later.

While New England looked to have dodged a bullet while Newton remains in stable health and asymptomatic, the Patriots are now dealing with a new wave of concern just two days after taking part in that Week 4 game on Monday night.

On Wednesday, another New England player had tested positive for COVID-19, with star defensive back Stephon Gilmore being the latest Patriots player to have a positive test result, although there are reports circling that he is also asymptomatic.

Gilmore is the third Patriots player to test positive, along with Newton and New England practice squad player Bill Murray, all of which have been added to the team’s Reserve/COVID-19 list.

As a result of Gilmore being another player within the organization testing positive, New England has reportedly shut down its team facilities in hopes of containing any sort of outbreak like what we have seen with the Tennessee Titans.

Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how this latest news might impact the Patriots, the NFL and the schedule both this week and beyond.

Impact of Stephon Gilmore’s positive test on the Patriots and the NFL.

As we saw in Week 4 notably with the Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers game, you have to think that a potential postponement of the Patriots’ Week 5 contest would be on the table, although that decision wouldn’t come for at least the next couple of days in hopes of the rest of the organization being in the clear as far as testing results go. New England is set to play the Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.

As of now, there are reports that the Patriots vs. Broncos game is on as planned, as stated below by Mike Klis of 9News in Denver. That, of course, could change throughout the rest of the week.

If the game would be postponed like it was in Week 4 by simply just moving the game back a day or two, it wouldn’t interrupt the regular season schedule for either New England or Denver. If the game would be postponed to a different week, well that could throw a curveball into the rest of the season slate for both the Patriots and the Broncos.

Along with the Gilmore news and apparently a minor COVID-19 outbreak — at least for now — within the Patriots organization, you have to wonder how or if that might impact the Kansas City Chiefs, who New England played just a few days ago in Kansas City. It will be interesting to keep an eye on the Chiefs and if they end up having any positive test results come back after taking the field with the Patriots in Week 4.

Obviously the health and safety of every Patriots player and team personnel is most important in this situation, but where New England goes from here is up in the air after Gilmore is the latest Patriots player to test positive for COVID-19.