Jordan Ta'amu's Positive COVID-19 Test Triggers Protocol Activation for Kansas City Chiefs
Just days after head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes discussed satisfaction in the Kansas City Chiefs’ efforts to prevent COVID-19 infections within their facilities, they find themselves locked out of the building while the team attempts to prevent an outbreak.
Practice squad and fourth-string quarterback Jordan Ta'amu's positive coronavirus test triggered contact-tracing within the organization. Players and other tiered personnel wear tracers while at team facilities to assist in the contact-tracing process.
Chiefs vice president of sports medicine and performance Rick Burkholder broke down the contract tracing policy, and other parts of the Chiefs' COVID-19 protocol before training camp began in July.
“That contact-tracer lets you know who you are around,” Burkholder said. “Now tomorrow, if we got a positive test, they would know that I spent five minutes with Ted Crews, or four minutes within six feet of [Director of Football Communications] Brad Gee. They would go back and trace that and then we would put our protocol in place based on the tracing. The tracing is a huge deal.”
Since each player takes a COVID-19 test daily, it’ll become clear whether or not those persons in contact were infected within the next few days.
Ta’amu has served as the Chiefs' scout team quarterback and would’ve gone up against the first-team defense during practice this week. He may have also been in meeting rooms with quarterbacks coach Mike Kafka, Mahomes, second-string quarterback Chad Henne, and fellow practice-squad quarterback Matt Moore.
Players are expected to follow social distancing while wearing masks throughout their time at team facilities.
Mahomes said he’s accepted the process when asked about the outbreak within the Tennessee Titans organization on Wednesday.
“I feel like Rick [Burkholder] and his staff and the whole organization have done a great job of keeping us socially distant, making us wear masks — even when people try to slip and not wear them — making sure that they’re wearing masks and we hold each other accountable,” Mahomes said.
Reid had similar comments before Mahomes spoke, and added the guidelines would become more important in the cases of a positive test.
“You’ve got to take as many precautionary measures as you can and try to stick with them,” Reid said. “If something happens like that, then you’ve got to work through that.”
Under the protocol, the Chiefs cannot return to team facilities until results from Saturday’s batch of player tests are returned.
If all negative, they may be one step closer to a potential Monday or Tuesday night matchup with the New England Patriots — assuming the outcome is the same in New England as they undergo the same process after starting quarterback Cam Newton tested positive.
Even then, Ta'amu won't be allowed to be in contact with the Chiefs for a time which will be set by the severity of his case.
"This is a very serious and very big undertaking, but we feel good about it," Burkholder said of the protocol. "Our players and coaches have bought in. The staff that has been with me has bought in."
