COVID Outbreak: NFL Should Move Chiefs-Steelers to Tuesday, Bills-Pats to National Window

It's only Tuesday, yet the Kansas City Chiefs have nine players on the reserve/COVID-19 list, including the recent additions of Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, and Harrison Butker. And according to The Athletic, the Chiefs will add "quite a few" more players to the list later today.

So it's a full-blown COVID outbreak in Kansas City. Even with updated COVID protocols that allow players to return after one negative test, the Chiefs will likely be without several key players for this Sunday's game against the Steelers, a game with significant playoff implications. Moreover, Chiefs-Steelers will air nationally at 4:25 ET on CBS in a standalone window for most of the country.

Last week, the NFL set a new precedent in response to the omicron variant by postponing three Week 16 games. Next, the league should quickly postpone Chiefs-Steelers and play the game on Tuesday, December 28.

While a two-day delay would not allow all Chiefs players to return, it'd increase several players' chances of testing out of the new COVID protocols to avoid missing a crucial game late in the season.

In the meantime -- as we knock on wood that no other team gets hit hard this week -- the NFL can move Bills-Patriots, with the AFC East on the line, to the 4:25 ET national window. CBS will carry both Bills-Patriots and Chiefs-Steelers this week, making the switch an easy adjustment.

*Check back to OutKick for more NFL breaking news.