Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu tests positive for COVID-19

Kansas City Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu tested positive for COVID-19 and is going on the NFL’s reserve list with the season opener approaching.

The start of the 2021 NFL season is almost here. Unfortunately, it looks like this will be another season with COVID-19 playing a role.

On Wednesday, Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu tested positive for COVID-19. He is now on the reserve/COVID list, per Tom Pelissero.

Tyrann Mathieu tested positive for COVID-19

Mathieu’s return depends on his vaccination status. If he’s vaccinated, he can get off the COVID list with two negative tests on consecutive days. If he’s not vaccinated, the wait will be longer. Unvaccinated players have to spend 10 days in quarantine. That would put his potential return on Friday or Saturday before Kansas City’s opener against the Browns.

UPDATE: Matt Verderame of FanSided reports Mathieu is vaccinated

The positive test highlights the tightrope NFL players are walking this season. They’re at great risk of missing games if they’re unvaccinated. However, even if they’re vaccinated, they’re still a positive test away from missing time.

Clearly, it’s better to be vaccinated than not when it comes to that risk. Still, the NFL season could be heavily impacted by the coronavirus, especially with variants wrecking havoc on cities around the country.

Hopefully, Mathieu will be cleared early enough to participate in Week 1. If not, the Chiefs will have to prove they can cope without their star safety. Even more importantly, Kansas City needs to cross their fingers and hope Mathieu is the only one impacted by COVID-19 for now.