Patriots, Broncos try again to play twice- postponed game
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Maybe the third attempt will result in a kickoff between the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots.
After having their original Week 5 matchup twice postponed because of a mini- outbreak of coronavirus cases on the Patriots that saw four players, including quarterback Cam Newton and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore, test positive, the teams are hopeful they will finally play on Sunday.
But during an NFL season that has already forced multiple teams to adjust their schedules and endure long layoffs between games, the underlying sentiment among players is that nothing is certain in the shadow of the pandemic.
“I think just with this season, you had an understanding from the get- go that things can constantly change,” Patriots running back Rex Burkhead said. “Anything could happen.”
Due to the disruptions last week, the league retroactively made Week 5 both teams’ bye week. But because of safety concerns the Patriots didn’t return to the practice field until Thursday.
New England then canceled practice on Friday and later placed center James Ferentz on the reserve/ COVID- 19 list. The team returned to work on Saturday, though a Patriots spokesman said while the team proceeded with its walkthrough, all meetings were virtual.
The Broncos had coronavirus news of their own Saturday. Running backs coach Curtis Modkins tested positive and won’t make the trip to New England. He is in isolation and has no symptoms.
If the game does indeed begin as scheduled on Sunday, it will be 13 days since the New England last played a game and 17 days for the Broncos, who beat the Jets in a Thursday night matchup on Oct. 1.
Broncos coach Vic Fangio said though their layoff has been longer, it helps that they did have a normal week of preparation last week even though the game was ultimately postponed.
“It’s not like we’ve been totally inactive during that time,” Fangio said.
Though he said they did basically have to start from “ground zero” again this week.
“Obviously, there will be some recall from the work that we did last week but we did want to start all over,” he said.
Those preparations now include getting ready for the likely return of Newton and Gilmore. Newton was activated from the COVID- 19 reserve list Wednesday, followed by Gilmore on Thursday.
Newton’s initial positive test was Oct. 2, two days before the Patriots’ loss at Kansas City. New England is 2- 1 with him as its starter. Gilmore tested positive on Oct. 7.
According to the NFL’s COVID- 19 protocols, a player who tests positive can return after 10 days have passed since the initial positive test or following two consecutive negative virus tests 24 hours apart.