Kansas City Chiefs showed no new positive COVID-19 tests among active roster Wednesday
Ten players on the Chiefs active roster have landed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list in two days, but the momentum is taking a pause.
For a day, at least.
No member of the Chiefs active roster tested positive Wednesday, coach Andy Reid confirmed, though offensive lineman Mike Remmers has been added to the list, per the league’s transactions report. Remmers has been on injured reserve since mid-November.
As the omicron variant sweeps across the nation, nearly 10% of the league has tested positive for COVID-19 in the span of two weeks. The Chiefs have been hit hard — a total of 13 players on their active roster and three more practice-squad players were placed on the reserve list in nine days.
Two who were on the list last week returned to practice Wednesday — receiver Josh Gordon and linebacker Willie Gay.
But plenty remain there. On Monday, tight end Travis Kelce, kicker Harrison Butker and cornerback Charvarius Ward were added to the list. On Tuesday, it was wide receiver Tyreek Hill, offensive linemen Lucas Niang and Kyle Long, linebacker Nick Bolton, cornerback Rashad Fenton and tight end Blake Bell, along with practice squad players Darius Harris and Daurice Fountain.
It’s prompted a game of predicting the unpredictable — leaving the Chiefs wondering who might be next.
“We’ve gone through this for two years,” Reid said. “Anything’s possible.”
The NFL has enacted stricter safety protocols reminiscent of 2020, including mask mandates for indoor meetings and social distancing requirements. But the league has also altered its return-to-play guidelines, allowing players a quicker return if they’re vaccinated, asymptomatic and show a combination of negative testing and a certain cycle threshold (CT).
To that end, the Chiefs did welcome back Gordon and Gay to practice Wednesday. It’s expected defensive lineman Chris Jones will soon join them. All three missed last week’s game in Los Angeles while on the COVID-19 list.
It remains to be seen, though, if any of the 10 players who joined the list this week will meet that criteria in time to be eligible to play on Sunday, when the Chiefs play host to the Steelers. Andy Reid said he’s not had any conversations with the league about moving the game. For now, the Chiefs march on preparing to insert some backups into the lineup.
“They’ve given us opportunities to replace people with the number of practice squad and elevations and this and that,” Reid said. “We just go next man up and roll and hope those guys get better. It’s the same way on the other side (for the players on the COVID-19 list). They have to stay prepared. They don’t know when they’ll test back in. They have to be ready to go in that way, too.
“It’s a crazy thing that’s in motion — fluid, as you’d say. We just gotta hang with it and make sure everyone prepares themselves and (is) ready to play.”
The Chiefs (10-4), who moved this week to the No. 1 spot in the AFC standings, play host to the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6-1) on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. While Reid said the league has not had any conversations (to date) about moving the game, that could change of course, depending on testing results over the next couple of days. Multiple games were rescheduled in Week 15 to accommodate teams dealing with COVID-19.
This story was originally published December 22, 2021 at 10:22 AM with the headline "Kansas City Chiefs showed no new positive COVID-19 tests among active roster Wednesday."