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Many are wondering when Cam Newton can return to the New England Patriots after testing positive for COVID-19, and Bill Belichick shed some light on the situation. Despite testing positive, Belichick shared that Newton can return to the field even without producing a negative coronavirus test.
“What you’re going to find is that if a person has the COVID virus, that they’re going to continue to test positive for a significant period of time — 30-60 days, depending on how much the body and how quickly it sheds the virus, but not at a contagious state. If you’re just looking at testing for someone who tested positive, you’re going to see that for a long time. Many teams have seen that, with guys who had it in the spring or summer continued to test positive in training camp. But that was 60-90 days from the first positive test. There is a certain period of time where they expect those tests to be positive,” Belichick told WEEI.
Newton tested positive ahead of New England's Week 4 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs. He was immediately placed on the team's COVID-19 reserve list and was ruled out against the Chiefs.
Then, when the Patriots' Week 5 game versus the Denver Broncos was postponed to Monday, Belichick refused to rule out Newton. However, with the game being pushed back until Week 6, there's a chance Newton can be back under center against the Broncos.
Some people have been curious about how the NFL plans to allow players who test positive to return. Instead of them needing to test negative, the league will permit players to return whenever they undergo the necessary protocols.
Having a player who's testing positive playing in games seems like a risky proposition for the NFL. Nevertheless, Belichick is confident that Newton can be back with the team while he continues to test positive for COVID-19.
