Patriots reportedly part of NFL’s flurry of coronavirus false-positives

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A double-digit number of NFL teams were reportedly part of a large batch of false-positive coronavirus tests from a single laboratory in New Jersey.

The Patriots were reportedly one of 10 or 11 teams involved in the issue, which led to the NFL releasing a statement Sunday morning.

“Saturday's daily COVID testing returned several positives tests from each of the clubs serviced by the same laboratory in New Jersey. We are working with our testing partner, BioReference, to investigate these results, while the clubs work to confirm or rule out the positive tests. Clubs are taking immediate precautionary measures as outlined in the NFL-NFLPA's health and safety protocols to include contact tracing, isolation of individuals and temporarily adjusting the schedule, where appropriate. The other laboratories used for NFL testing have not had similar results.”

According to The MMQB, the Patriots, Lions and other teams in the northeast were affected by the testing issue.

The Patriots were another team caught up in Saturday's rash of false-positives connected to the New Jersey lab, per sources.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) August 23, 2020

The Athletic also reported that the Patriots had false-positive tests, leading to additions to the list of players absent from practice on Sunday. New England did not practice on Saturday.

The Patriots dealt with false-positive COVID-19 test results this weekend, according to a source. That was the reason behind several new absences today at practice.

— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) August 23, 2020

The Patriots had 11 players absent from practice on Sunday, including a notable new name to the list in veteran running back James White.

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