Chris Jones Returns to Practice After Reserve/COVID-19 Designation

On Thursday, Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones was placed on the Chiefs' Reserve/COVID-19 list after presumably being in contact with someone who had been exposed to the coronavirus. On Friday, Chris Jones returned to practice.

Later on Thursday, Sam Mellinger of The Kansas City Star reported that Jones had not tested positive for COVID-19, but had been in contact with someone who may have, which was determined through contact tracing.

I'm told Chris Jones is on the Covid-19 list because of contact tracing, not a positive test.
— Sam Mellinger (@mellinger) November 5, 2020

This all followed a positive COVID-19 test for a Chiefs staff member, which was later reported to be Rick Burkholder, the Chiefs' vice president of sports medicine and performance and the team's infectious control officer, a position that all 32 NFL teams were required to fill before the season.

A report earlier Friday from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network confirmed that Jones had come in "close contact with a staffer who was COVID-19 positive," presumably-but-unofficially Burkholder, but that Jones had been cleared to return to the building on Friday.

#Chiefs standout DT Chris Jones, out recently because of a close contact with a staffer who was COVID-19 positive, is back in the building and set to practice today, source said. That’s a sign he’s been cleared.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 6, 2020

That's the news. This next part is trying to piece together the rest of the information. Here's why I'm a little bit confused:

If he's classified as a "high risk close contact," it's a mandatory 5-day isolation, with the clock starting the day after exposure to COVID positive individual. When that timeline starts will determine if Jones can play Sunday vs CAR. https://t.co/diDoiwncY3
— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) November 5, 2020

This tweet from The Athletic's Lindsay Jones lays out the rules for what happens when a player comes into "high-risk close contact" with someone with COVID-19. Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman missed three games on the Reserve/COVID-19 list despite never personally testing positive, at least as far as we know.

...So how did Chris Jones get cleared in less than 24 hours?

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer reported that Jones' close contact wasn't Burkholder, which would explain a number of the confusing parts of the story.

Per source, Chiefs DT Chris Jones landed on the COVID-19 list because he was a close contact, not because of a positive test. That close contact, I'm told, happened outside the facility and away from the team.

Kansas City plays Carolina on Sunday.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) November 5, 2020

However, Rapoport discussed Jones' return on NFL Network and still cited Burkholder as Jones' contact.

From NFL Now: #Chiefs DT Chris Jones is back at practice after being placed on the COVID-19 reserve list. He's good to go for this week. pic.twitter.com/XVl9BALIKH
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 6, 2020

On Friday, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid declined to get into details about where Jones' COVID run-in came from, emphasizing that they followed the league's protocol. Reid said Jones is on track to play on Sunday.