Patriots
Thursday, when 10 days will have passed since his positive test.
On Tuesday afternoon, Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’S Chief Medical Officer, said league personnel who come in close contact with others who test positive and are considered “highrisk” must isolate for at least five days. The five-day period likely represents the median incubation period for COVID-19, which the league ignored two weeks ago, when it told the Patriots to travel and play at Kansas City roughly 72 hours after Newton’s positive test. Less than a day later, Gilmore tested positive for the virus.
Later in the week, it was reported the league deemed multiple Patriots to be high-risk close contacts of Gilmore’s after it studied video footage and tracking data from devices players and coaches are wearing this season. Five days after Gilmore’s test, Cowart also tested positive. The results of any contact tracing done after Cowart’s test are unknown.
“Testing, tracing and isolation, those are the three key components that we will continue to use because
we know that they are successful,” Dr. Sills said. “And that’s what’s going to help us move forward.”
Asked if the new five-day rule indicated the league should not have instructed the Pats to travel and play at Kanas City, Sills said medical professionals are continuing to grapple with the realities of COVID19’s transmission. He declared the NFL’S protocols are designed to mitigate risk, not eliminate it.
The league’s latest COVID-19 testing data shows 15 new positive tests last week from 7,820 personnel, who were subjected to almost 38,000 tests in total.
From a football standpoint, Cowart’s positive test has further dented the Pats’ depth at defensive tackle. Murray, who quietly was placed on the COVID-19 reserve list last week a day before Gilmore, would have been a candidate for promotion to the active roster. Instead, he remains sidelined.
That leaves Nick Thurman to team with fellow defensive tackles Lawrence Guy and Adam Butler against a run-friendly Broncos offense. Thurman has already twice been promoted from the practice squad in Weeks 2 and 3, meaning if he’s elevated again, the Pats must sign him to the active roster. The team currently has one roster spot open.
“Nick’s a hardworking kid,” Belichick said Tuesday. “He’s played a number of different roles for us, he’s been active here a little bit this year and he’s had an opportunity to practice with our defense, not just the scout team. He’s, like all of our second-year players, made significant improvement over the course of the offseason and started the year this year and we’ll see how it goes.
“I’m sure if he gets an opportunity, he’ll be ready to go.”
Like the rest of the Patriots, Thurman will simply have to hurry up and wait.