WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — The New England Patriots are set to fly to Kansas City for a Monday night showdown against the defending Super Bowl champions.
According to reports, the Patriots will travel to Missouri in two planes — one plane will carry players who have had close contact with quarterback Cam Newton, and the other will have the rest of the team.
One plane is set to leave from T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, and the other from Boston Logan International Airport. It is unclear who will board which plane.
According to NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Patriots’ PCR overnight test results all came back negative Monday morning and the team is now on its buses heading to their respective airports.
The Patriots’ Week 4 game against the Chiefs was rescheduled to Monday night after the NFL announced players on both the Patriots and the Chiefs tested positive for the coronavirus.
On Saturday, the Patriots said there was a single player who tested positive — reports indicated it was quarterback Cam Newton, who has since been placed on the COVID-19 reserve list, which is for players who have tested positive or have been potentially exposed.
Reports also said that Chiefs practice squad quarterback Jordan Ta’amu tested positive.
Further testing of players and personnel on both teams returned no new positives from Saturday and Sunday testing, according to the NFL.
Since Patriots players don’t normally fly to a game on game day, it has Sports Medicine Doctor Jessica Flynn from Lahey Clinic raising a concern.
“I think it’s pushing it,” she said. “I really do think it’s a little too soon for them to all be gathering even though it is two planes I just think it’s too soon for them to be flying to another city and playing another team, just not knowing where these positive tests are gonna go”
The team typically does what’s called the “gold standard” coronavirus test, which takes 12-24 hours to turn around. But on Monday, Flynn says the team will have the rapid point of care test, which is a little less sensitive.
Flynn says the rapid tests might not pick up as many cases, but is the only way the Patriots could be tested to determine if they could board the plane and play Monday night.
Newton broke the silence since reports of his positive test by posting a photo of himself on Instagram on Sunday with a mask around his chin.
“I never will question God’s reasoning, just will always respond with ‘YES LORD!!'” Newton wrote. “I appreciate all the love, support, and WELL WISHES!!”
Kickoff is at 7:05 p.m. on CBS.
