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The Kansas City Chiefs received some bad news last night on December 20 after superstar Travis Kelce tested positive for COVID-19.
The tight end joined Chris Jones, Willie Gay, Charvarius Ward, Harrison Butker, Josh Gordon, Joe Fortson and Gehrig Dieter on the Chiefs COVID-19/reserve list.
Now, it appears another seven players have tested positive for the virus.
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Latest COVID Update Is Trouble
NFL insider Adam Schefter tweeted out an update on December 21 and it’s not good.
More COVID issues in KC, which is becoming this week’s hot spot.
Chiefs’ WR Tyreek Hill, CB Rashad Fenton and TE Blake Bell are being placed on Reserve/COVID, sources tell @adamteicher and me.
Other players likely coming but as one source said, “it’s a mess.”
“More COVID issues in KC, which is becoming this week’s hot spot,” he wrote. “Chiefs’ WR Tyreek Hill, CB Rashad Fenton and TE Blake Bell are being placed on Reserve/COVID, sources tell [Adam Teicher] and me. Other players likely coming but as one source said, ‘it’s a mess.'”
And so the status for Chiefs’ WR Tyreek Hill, TE Travis Kelce and K Harrison Butker all are in question for Sunday’s game vs. Steelers.
Schefter added in a follow-up: “And so the status for Chiefs’ WR Tyreek Hill, TE Travis Kelce and K Harrison Butker all are in question for Sunday’s game vs. Steelers.”
BREAKING UPDATE: A little over an hour later, NFL insider Field Yates reported that seven new Chiefs names went on the COVID-19 list today — so four additional players from the Schefter report.
A total of 7 Chiefs went on the COVID-19 list today: WR Tyreek Hill, TE Blake Bell, LB Nick Bolton, CB Rashad Fenton, G Kyle Long, OT Lucas Niang and CB Armani Watts.
All were the result of a positive test.
Those athletes were linebacker Nick Bolton, guard Kyle Long, offensive tackle Lucas Niang and cornerback Armani Watts, per Yates.
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Code Red in KC
Kansas City is now entering the danger zone in terms of positive tests and according to Nate Taylor of The Athletic, it could get worse in the coming hours.
From my understanding, the Chiefs, by the end of today, could have 10 or more players on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
“From my understanding, the Chiefs, by the end of today, could have 10 or more players on the reserve/COVID-19 list,” Taylor reported.
That’s not necessarily in addition to the four extra players that Yates announced in his update. Eight of those 15 are potential starters and three of those eight rank among the top six cap-hits on the roster (Jones, Kelce and Hill).
There’s no doubt about it, this is a full-on disaster as the AFC postseason race is tighter than ever. KC inches toward a pivotal matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 16.
Latest Update for Week 16
Shortly after the news broke, Pete Sweeney of Arrowhead Pride provided an update on the current COVID list.
The major positive was that Jones, Gay and Gordon “likely will come off vs. [Pittsburgh].” These three missed Week 15 so they would obviously have more time to recover and eventually pass the protocols needed to play against the Steelers.
Kelce and Ward also have a “shot to play,” according to Sweeney. Butker “will not play,” and his replacement Elliott Fry has already been elevated to start in his place.
If Kelce and Hill were to miss Week 16, it would bring many fans’ greatest fears to light. Patrick Mahomes’ auxiliary weapons have struggled to make their mark all season and a starting group of Byron Pringle, Mecole Hardman, Demarcus Robinson, Marcus Kemp and Noah Gray would be less than ideal.
So far, the running back room remains unscathed (knock on wood) but the secondary is also in some hot water. Assuming L’Jarius Sneed returns, he’ll join Mike Hughes, DeAndre Baker and Zayne Anderson as the available personnel at cornerback.
More information will be posted when available, as this is an ongoing story.