NFL COVID-19 opt outs beginning to pour in

NFL players have until Monday, Aug. 3 to declare that they will opt out of the 2020 season due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. Opt outs, though, have already begun to flood in.

An astounding six members of the New England Patriots, including Dont’a Hightower, Patrick Chung, and Marcus Cannon have opted out. Check out Pats Pulpit for more on New England opt outs.

The NFL has even posted on an opt-out tracker on its website. As of this writing, there are 19 players who have chosen to forego playing football this season. As of now, none are members of the New York Giants.

With more and more players opting out you begin to wonder increasingly about the quality of the product the NFL will put on the field this season. That is one of the many things Patricia Traina and I talked about on today’s ‘Valentine’s Views’ podcast, which you can listen to here:

The situation with the Miami Marlins, where 17 players and coaches have tested positive for the virus in the past five days, also bears watching. How will baseball handle it, and what might the NFL learn?

The NFLPA has announced that 21 players have tested positive for COVID-19 since rookies, rehabbing players and quarterbacks began reporting to teams last week.