Broncos-Patriots again rescheduled after another positive coronavirus test

The football game between the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos scheduled for Monday has been delayed after another member of the Patriots organization tested positive for coronavirus, the league announced Sunday.

According to ESPN, the game was rescheduled for the following Sunday, which, in turn, caused the game between the Broncos and Miami Dolphins set for that day to also be rescheduled.

The Patriots-Broncos game had already been moved from Sunday to Monday night after New England cornerback Stephon Gilmore tested positive for COVID-19 last week. Quarterback Cam Newton also tested positive and urged followers on Twitter to “WEAR YOUR MASK • KEEP YOUR DISTANCE.”

Last week, the Patriots canceled practices and the team’s facility was shut down for several days. It reopened and the team held a practice Saturday after a number of days without a positive coronavirus test. The NFL closed the facility again on Sunday.

A source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter said that all coronavirus tests aside from the one had come back negative Sunday morning.

Members of the Broncos expressed their displeasure with the decision on Twitter with running back Melvin Gordon tweeting, “Ain’t no way we practiced all week and they canceled our game.”

Fellow Bronco Justin Simmons retweeted Gordon saying, “Injuries at an all time high and our bye week was burned up with practices.”

Injuries at an all time high and our bye week was burned up with practices. https://t.co/4Z11ZBTi2D

— Justin Simmons (@jsimms1119) October 11, 2020

Broncos coach Vic Fangio said on Sunday, “I’m fully prepared to react and improvise, no matter what happens. And in a weird way, I’m kinda happy to see some of this stuff happen. Because you see who the whiners are, who the bitchers are, and who can’t handle adversity. And I’m gonna try hard that the Denver Broncos don’t fall into any of those categories.”

The NFL has continued to operate under intense pressure to play a full schedule during the COVID-19 pandemic.