A dose of good news has come out of New England.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Thursday morning the Patriots had zero new positive tests stemming from Wednesday's round of testing, per a source informed of the situation.
New England will continue to work remotely Thursday for at least one more round of COVID-19 tests.
The positive news comes a day after star corner Stephon Gilmore tested positive, the third Patriots player to have done so, joining quarterback Cam Newton and practice-squad defensive lineman Bill Murray, who was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Tuesday.
Originally scheduled to face Denver at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday, the Patriots will now face the Broncos on Monday night at 5:00 p.m. ET, the league announced in a memo Thursday evening.
The decision was "made to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel and in consultation with medical experts," the memo read.
"We're preparing today like a normal Thursday," coach Bill Belichick said earlier in the day. "We'll see what the schedule is and isn't but we're preparing for a normal Thursday."
As we've seen out of Tennessee, a day or two of zero positive tests does not get New England out of the woods, but it's certainly better than the alternative. The Pats need at least two consecutive days -- and potentially more -- of zero positives in order to re-open the facility.
"We made the decision to close the facility for the health and safety of our team," Belichick said. "That's always priority No. 1. We have continued our preparations for Denver with virtual calls and we'll just kind of take the situation day by day. When we feel that it's safe for everyone to come back, then we will do that."
When asked what is his level of input with the NFL regarding how much time is necessary to prepare to play a game, Belichick said: "We've been in communication with the league, and again, that's a fluid situation, so we'll just take it day by day."
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero later reported that the Patriots will continue to work remotely Friday.
Elsewhere in the NFL, New England's opponent from Monday night, the Kansas City Chiefs, reported zero new positive tests from Wednesday's round of testing, Pelissero reported. The Las Vegas Raiders, who saw DT Maurice Hurst land on the reserve/COVID-19 list this week, also saw zero new positive tests.
