The Kansas City Chiefs have had their third COVID-19 case among the players since Friday, December 10.
2-Time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Chris Jones has entered COVID protocol, according to head coach Andy Reid during his press conference on Tuesday, December 14.
#Chiefs Andy Reid says that DL Chris Jones is in the COVID-19 protocol and won’t practice. CB L’Jarius Sneed is on his way back to Kansas City and will miss today’s practice (personal).
Jones becomes the third Chiefs player in the last five days to be put into COVID-19 protocol, putting Kansas City in the midst of an outbreak in a week in which they face the division-rival Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football.
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Reid did not rule out Jones or wide receiver Josh Gordon — who tested positive on Monday, December 13 — for the team’s Week 15 outing, however. So in the meantime, both players will start their weeks out with a “did not participate” next to their names on the practice report.
“We’ll see,” Reid said of the situation. “We’ll just see how the testing, you know they test here. So, we’ll just see how that goes.”
Players in the NFL are subject to the Reserve/COVID-19 list if they test positive for the virus or those identified through contact tracing as having been exposed, per The Washington Post.
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According to a memo — which was obtained by NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero — that was sent to clubs from the NFL back in July, vaccinated players or staff that test positive for the virus and are asymptomatic are eligible to return to duty if they register two negative tests 24 hours apart. For unvaccinated players, just like in 2020, they must quarantine for 10 days and will be permitted to return to duty if they are asymptomatic.
Fortson First Chief to Test Positive in Week 14
The first player that was at the forefront of the outbreak in Kansas City — but didn’t necessarily cause the outbreak — was tight end, Jody Fortson. Fortson has been on injured reserve since tearing his achilles in Week 6 during the Chiefs’ over the Washington Football Team. Nevertheless, he was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Friday, December 10.
#Chiefs TE Jody Fortson (IR, Achilles) was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list today.
At the start of training camp, 90 percent of the Kansas City team was vaccinated, according to head coach Andy Reid. As of August 17, the team was over 95 percent vaccinated, a league spokesperson told KSHB 41’s Casey Murray. “The spokesperson said that makes them one of seven NFL teams to hit the 95% mark,” Murray wrote.
Gordon shared on Twitter after testing positive that he is fully vaccinated. The vaccination statuses of Jones and Fortson are unknown at this time.
The hope is that the Chiefs — who play a pivotal division game against Los Angeles on Thursday, December 16 — don’t have an outbreak in their building that significantly impacts their ability to win against a division-rival Chargers squad that’s in contention for AFC West title.
Given that Kansas City’s dominant interior defender is now in jeopardy of missing Thursday’s game, hope doesn’t seem to be in the Chiefs’ corner.
Vaccinated & all.. Smh 🤦🏾♂️ damn.
I think it’s just a winter sniffle 🤧🥶 Where’s a booster 💉 🤷🏾♂️ #GetVaccinated #StaySafe
36 NFL Players Tested Positive Monday
Gordon is one of the 36 NFL players that tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero. That marks the highest player positive case count in the NFL in a single day since the pandemic began.
More context on the 36 NFL players who went on COVID lists today, via @RealJackAndrade @NFLResearch:
It’s more than the entire months of September or October, and double the previous in-season record of 18. The past three Mondays each set season highs.
All 36 tested positive.
Due to a very high case count, the NFL informed teams on Tuesday, December 14 that all Tier 1 and Tier 2 employees are mandated to receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot, according to NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo.
Now official. NFL requiring booster shots of all Tier 1 and 2 staff by Dec. 27. Memo has gone out to teams.
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Chris Jones Expected to Miss Game vs. Chargers After Latest Roster Shift