USA TODAY International Edition
Two Chiefs land on reserve/ COVID- 19 list
With six days until Super Bowl 55, the Chiefs are placing two players on the NFL’s reserve/ COVID- 19 list.
Kansas City center Daniel Kilgore and wide receiver Demarcus Robinson were ruled close contacts of the virus, ESPN’s Adam Schefter was first to report Monday afternoon.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid was subsequently asked about the report and said he found out Sunday.
“They’ll work through it,” Reid said. “It’ll all work out for them.”
Players ruled to be close contacts must quarantine from the team but can return after five days if they produce daily negative tests and do not become symptomatic. That timeline doesn’t rule out Kilgore’s and Robinson’s availability for a Super Bowl matchup against the Buccaneers.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said he hoped they could return.
“I hope that one, it wasn’t a positive test for either one of them and they stay COVID- free and go through the protocol,” Kelce said. “I don’t want to imagine what it would be like to miss the Super Bowl because of COVID. Hopefully my guys can get back on the field.
“Just wouldn’t feel right without those guys.”
Reid insisted the players had followed NFL protocols, which include daily PCR testing, social distancing, contact- tracing bracelets and wearing masks.
The NFL and NFLPA were confident the intensive protocol they adopted late in the regular season was sufficient to protect players’ availability for the Super Bowl.
No players tested positive for the virus leading up to the conference championship games. Families and friends who live with players are also undergoing testing this week.
“The problem is you’re fighting the invisible man,” Reid said. “It gets you when you least expect it, and we’re seeing that everywhere.
“You’re fighting germs. And they’re hard to see.”