Positive COVID-19 Tests from Patriots, Raiders put Chiefs' Future in Question

A flurry of positive COVID-19 tests from the NFL world, including New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore, could directly impact the Kansas City Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the coming weeks.

A flurry of positive COVID-19 tests from the NFL world, including New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore, could directly impact the Kansas City Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the coming days and weeks.

As of Wednesday morning, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that the Chiefs have still not had any positive coronavirus tests since playing the Patriots on Sunday, but Gilmore's positive test (and this tweet from Ben Volin of the Boston Globe) have caused some concern.

Put Mahomes in a hermetically sealed bubble please pic.twitter.com/LK62mS3Ei3

— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) October 7, 2020

Additional reports confirmed that Gilmore was on the Patriots' second plane to Kansas City, which included roughly 20 people who were found to have been in close contact with starting quarterback Cam Newton, who tested positive for COVID-19 on October 3, leading to the Chiefs-Patriots matchup being postponed to Monday night.

Stephon Gilmore was determined to have close contact with Cam Newton last week, so he traveled to KC on the smaller plane with roughly 20 people, according to a source.

— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) October 7, 2020

Additionally, the Tennessee Titans' coronavirus outbreak continues to yield positive tests, including two new cases on Wednesday morning. The Titans' opponent this Sunday is set to be the Buffalo Bills, who the Chiefs are scheduled to play a week from Thursday. The Chiefs could play three games on a Monday (vs. New England) Sunday (vs. Las Vegas Raiders) and Thursday (at Buffalo), while the Bills could potentially head into the previously-short week against the Chiefs with an unscheduled bye week, if the Titans can't play on Sunday.

Yet another wrinkle comes from the Chiefs' upcoming Week 5 opponent, the Las Vegas Raiders. On Tuesday, the Raiders placed defensive lineman Maurice Hurst on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, which means the Raiders will now also bear watching in the days to come. 

For more news and updates on the Kansas City Chiefs, bookmark arrowheadreport.com and follow @SIChiefs and @jbbrisco on Twitter.