Chiefs strength coach Barry Rubin tests positive for COVID-19, report says
The Chiefs are on a first-round playoff bye but couldn’t avoid the pandemic that continues to affect the country.
Chiefs strength and conditioning coach Barry Rubin tested positive for COVID-19 and contact tracing is underway, the NFL Network reported Tuesday.
Players, coaches and staff members are still required to test daily despite the bye, but Chiefs players have not been around the team facility since Week 17’s regular-season finale.
The Chiefs aren’t expected to resume practice until Thursday in preparation for the AFC Divisional Round, which falls on the weekend of Jan. 16-17, depending on results of the contact tracing.
Rubin becomes the 11th person, either staff or player, associated with the Chiefs known to be affected by COVID-19 during the regular season.
Linebacker Anthony Hitchens remains on the reserve/COVID-19 list since landing there on Dec. 22 and missed the last two regular-season games. According to numerous reports, Hitchens didn’t test positive but was deemed a high-risk contact after exposure to someone who did.
In addition to Hitchens, wide receiver Mecole Hardman, fullback Anthony Sherman, defensive tackle Chris Jones, right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, left tackle Eric Fisher, offensive lineman Martinas Rankin and former practice squad quarterback Jordan Ta’amu and defensive tackle Braxton Hoyett landed on the list.
Sherman, who was deemed a high-risk contact, missed three games before returning in early November; Hardman took time in early December to discuss his time on the COVID-19 list; and Jones spent one day away from the team before being cleared.
Rick Burkholder, who serves as the Chiefs’ vice president of sports and performance and the team’s infectious control officer, tested positive for COVID-19 and spent time away from the facility.
Meanwhile, Rubin’s reported positive test continues to highlight the challenges faced by the NFL entering the postseason during the pandemic.
The Cleveland Browns will be without some members of their coaching staff, including head coach Kevin Stefanski, and two players for the first round of the playoffs after the group tested positive, according to NFL.com.
The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed more than 352,000 lives in the U.S. alone, according to the CDC.
