Cam Newton, Stephon Gilmore Reportedly Expected to Rejoin Patriots Thursday

New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton and cornerback Stephon Gilmore are expected to rejoin the team Thursday after having been away from the squad following positive COVID-19 tests, according to ESPN's Field Yates and the Boston Globe's Jim McBride.

Of note, Newton—who missed New England's Week 4 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs—was officially removed from the COVID-19 list on Wednesday.

Yates reported that a return to the field Thursday would put Newton "on track" to start Sunday in the team's rescheduled home game against the Denver Broncos.      

Newton's positive test—one of four that has transpired within the Patriots organization—was revealed Oct. 3, but his father Cecil told North Carolina-based ABC11 on Sunday that Newton has remained asymptomatic. Per the league's rules, Newton can return to the field after 10 days if he does not show symptoms of the virus.

Head coach Bill Belichick offered a brief explanation of the league's rule in an interview with Boston's WEEI 93.7 on Monday, but ultimately said that Newton's return was up to league medical officials:

"Look, this whole area is really a medical discussion. It is not a football discussion. Frankly, it's not something that I'm qualified to talk about. It's really more of a situation that we rely on our medical staff, our doctors, our trainers and consultation with the league medical team and that's really what all this is about. You can't expect a football coach to manage a hospital or make medical decisions on something like this. There's no team in the league that's doing it that way. This is at a different level here."

The Patriots facility reopened Wednesday after it was closed for the third time in 10 days following a fourth positive test, though no official practice was held. Byron Cowart tested positive on Sunday, following positive tests from Gilmore and Bill Murray.

The team's Week 5 game against the Denver Broncos was postponed to Week 6, prompting seven other schedule adjustments around the league.

The outbreak in Foxborough, Massachusetts, has remained largely controlled, unlike that of the Tennessee Titans, where there have been 24 positive cases of COVID-19 between players and staff members. Neither team has produced any positive tests for the virus since Cowart tested positive on Sunday.