The number is currently at 6 Patriots players opting out of the upcoming season. As it stands, Marcus Cannon, Dan Vitale, Najee Toran, Brandon Bolden, Dont’a Hightower, and now Patrick Chung have all made the decision to sit out this year due to Covid-19 pandemic concerns. This is completely understandable and a personal decision that I’m certain was not easy.
It obviously frees up tons of salary cap space and of course it will be fascinating to see what Bill Belichick does with that, but seeing what is happening right now in baseball with the Marlins as an example of what can go very wrong very fast makes even the most determined optimist question how realistic our hopes for an actual full NFL season really are.
My 15 year old commented “Tank for Trevor (Lawrence)”, the Clemson quarterback most are projecting as the top pick in next year’s draft, but I just don’t see it for a Bill Belichick team. He is way too much of a competitor and historian of the game, who I believe is chasing Don Shula’s record for most games won in his career. Bill knows he only has so many games left to accomplish this. Its hard to imagine him wasting a year of potential wins to maybe get a player of the future. Not to mention, what a challenge for a coach who loves to make adjustments. Is this not the ultimate test for a head coach, to somehow pull off a winning season under the worst possible conditions and the first post-Brady?
Its very much a fluid situation right now, so we’ll stay tuned and try to stay optimistic. We really need sports as a distraction from everything else going on around the country and globe, so everything crossed it can be done safely.