Patriots' Jason McCourty wonders if NFL, NFLPA care about player safety

The NFL received some immense backlash for allowing the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs to play on Monday after Cam Newton and Jordan Ta'amu tested positive for the coronavirus. That outrage stretched beyond fans, too.

As the Patriots prepare to play the Denver Broncos on Monday, Jason McCourty stepped forward to discuss his feelings about the team's Week 4 matchup at Arrowhead Stadium. The cornerback questioned whether the COVID-19 protocols put in place by the NFL make safety a top priority. 

McCourty cited the Patriots-Chiefs matchup on Monday and the fact he and his teammates had to board planes, where the virus can quickly spread, and travel to Kansas City, according to ESPN's Mike Reiss:

"I think outside of here, the people that don't have to walk in our building — whether it is the league office, whether it is the NFLPA — they don't care. For them, it is not about our best interest, or our health and safety, it is about, 'What can we make protocol-wise that sounds good, looks good, and how can we go out there and play games?' I think what I kind of learned personally throughout this situation is it is going to be up to us as individuals in this building to just really take care of one another."

McCourty also brought up the fact that the virus has a long incubation period, meaning that players can test negative for two or more days straight and then all of a sudden return a positive test. 

While only Newton tested positive ahead of Monday's matchup, Stephon Gilmore later returned a positive result, which led to the team's practice facility shutting down for three days. 

The Patriots returned to their facility on Saturday in preparation for the Broncos after multiple days without returning a positive test. At this point, if another player tests positive for the virus, Monday's game against Denver will be in jeopardy, but things appear to be headed in the right direction.