The NFL has postponed Monday night's Week 5 game between the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos in the wake of the latest positive COVID-19 test, the league announced.
"The Denver Broncos at New England Patriots game scheduled for Monday, October 12 at 5:00 p.m. ET has been postponed," the league said in a statement. "Details on a new game date and time will be announced shortly. Both teams will now have a Week 5 bye. This decision was made to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel and in consultation with medical experts."
It was learned Sunday morning that a Patriots player tested positive for COVID-19 during Saturday's round of testing, which caused their facility to be shut down as a precaution. It was the second shutdown of their facility this week.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that the NFL has alerted involved teams to the possibility of schedule changes, but no final decisions have been made yet on a new date for Broncos-Patriots or related ripple effects on other teams.
Broncos-Patriots had already been rescheduled from Sunday afternoon to Monday night earlier this week after cornerback Stephon Gilmore tested positive for COVID-19. The news came after the Patriots played the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night, which was another game rescheduled from Sunday to Monday after Cam Newton's positive COVID-19 test.
The Patriots had consecutive days of negative COVID-19 results ahead of their facility being reopened on Saturday.
Sunday's news marks the third game moved to a different week this season stemming from positive COVID-19 test results.
The Tennessee Titans' Week 4 matchup vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers was moved to Week 7 last week. The rescheduling affected the Steelers' Week 7 game vs. the Ravens, which was moved to Week 8. Both the Titans and Steelers served their bye week in Week 4.
