The National Football League has yet to tackle its coronavirus problem, with the New England Patriots having to again postpone a game and the Tennessee Titans having to again shut down their facilities as each team announced a new positive case.
Monday’s game between the Patriots and the Denver Broncos is being rescheduled for a later date, the league announced in a statement to its Twitter account Sunday. The issue occurred after a new coronavirus case on the Patriots side. The game was originally scheduled for Sunday and it’s not yet known when it will be played.
The Patriots confirmed to NBC News on Sunday that it had one new positive test and asked all Tier 1 and Tier 2 employees to continue daily coronavirus testing, but not enter the team facility.
New England’s facilities were closed earlier after three players — Cam Newton, Stephon Gilmore and Bill Murray — tested positive for the virus. The team’s issue with the virus had already forced its game against the Kansas City Chiefs last week to be pushed back an additional day.
Sunday also brought a new setback for the Tennessee Titans, who confirmed to NBC News that another staff member tested positive.
“We have temporarily closed our facility and are in communication with the league on the next steps,” the team said in a statement.
The Titans announced only Saturday that the team had returned to its facility as the virus wreaked havoc on its lineup and forced a shutdown weeks ago.
The outbreak within the Titans has now risen to 24 positive cases among players and staff. The fate of the Titans game against the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday, already rescheduled from Sunday, is now in doubt.
An earlier game scheduled between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Tennessee Titans in Nashville was postponed for Oct. 25.
The Associated Press contributed.
