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Players opting out of the 2020 season - Deadline Aug 6...unless you've got a good reason to opt out later (1 Viewer)

Summer Wheat said:
Whoever opts out is a personal decision.    Like anything else in life it is next man up.  The player pool is and will always be endless.
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I agree with this, but with the asterisk that the player POOL is endless...... the player pool of TALENTED players is NOT.

That's why I expect to see some version of the NFL this year that will quickly degrade over time as worse players are hurried onto rosters with each passing week. Between Covid tests and what I can assume will be one of the most injury marred seasons in memory lineups will be a revolving door all season long. The fact that there are an endless supply of guys that will gladly suit up it's been shocking to me all along that teams aren't allowed to have a ~40 man practice squad for Marlin situations. Baseball made it a week before they had to start canceling gameS. You cancel one game in football you are canceling an entire week of play.

 
Blackbear said:
Cannon was above average over the last few years according to PFF. 
 

I noticed Thuney has played all positions in college. He rated high in pass protection at guard, 5th overall at guard according to PFF. I wonder if he is capable at right tackle? 
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The issue with Thuney is do you really want to pay him that much money only to play him out of position?  Unless you see that as a potentially permanent move I'd rather keep him at his natural position unless you have no other options with the hope you find Cannon's replacement as he will be 33 years old the next time he plays football...as for Cannon, he was on the PFF "all-average" team:

https://www.patspulpit.com/new-england-patriots-social-media-video-podcasts/2020/5/28/21273187/sony-michel-marcus-cannon-pro-football-focus-all-average-team-new-england-patriots 

 
Boston said:
The issue with Thuney is do you really want to pay him that much money only to play him out of position?  Unless you see that as a potentially permanent move I'd rather keep him at his natural position unless you have no other options with the hope you find Cannon's replacement as he will be 33 years old the next time he plays football...as for Cannon, he was on the PFF "all-average" team:

https://www.patspulpit.com/new-england-patriots-social-media-video-podcasts/2020/5/28/21273187/sony-michel-marcus-cannon-pro-football-focus-all-average-team-new-england-patriots 
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The problem at RT is that average will always be better than below average, which seemingly is what they have in terms of in-house replacement options (at least there is not a proven solution that we know about . . . maybe one of the young guys can step in).

PFF scored Cannon as a 68.0 last year, Tackles that are still out there unsigned include:

Demar Dotson - TBB (71.0)
Jared Veldheer - GB (69.2)
Cordy Glenn - CIN (68.4)
Greg Robinson - CLE (66.9)
Donald Penn - WAS (64.1)
Marshall Newhouse - NE (62.6)

The point being, NE could probably find a comparable replacement tackle off the street for low dollars (although most of those guys are getting up there age-wise).

Hightower was graded at a score of 69.4 by PFF. There's less to choose from in terms of remaining OLB free agents (and who knows if they would even be a fit in NE) . . .

Nigel Bradham - PHI (64.6)
Mychael Kendricks - SEA (62.7)
Clay Matthews - RAMS (54.5)

I heard Mike Reiss this morning on TV saying he does not expect the Pats to go out and make a splash. He seems to think they will try to save as much cap room as they can and fill in holes with guys already on the roster if possible. He didn't follow that up by suggesting they would roll that  cap space over into next year when the cap will go down, but that would be the logical conclusion if they don't spend it this season.

 
Anarchy99 said:
The problem at RT is that average will always be better than below average, which seemingly is what they have in terms of in-house replacement options (at least there is not a proven solution that we know about . . . maybe one of the young guys can step in).

PFF scored Cannon as a 68.0 last year, Tackles that are still out there unsigned include:

Demar Dotson - TBB (71.0)
Jared Veldheer - GB (69.2)
Cordy Glenn - CIN (68.4)
Greg Robinson - CLE (66.9)
Donald Penn - WAS (64.1)
Marshall Newhouse - NE (62.6)

The point being, NE could probably find a comparable replacement tackle off the street for low dollars (although most of those guys are getting up there age-wise).

Hightower was graded at a score of 69.4 by PFF. There's less to choose from in terms of remaining OLB free agents (and who knows if they would even be a fit in NE) . . .

Nigel Bradham - PHI (64.6)
Mychael Kendricks - SEA (62.7)
Clay Matthews - RAMS (54.5)

I heard Mike Reiss this morning on TV saying he does not expect the Pats to go out and make a splash. He seems to think they will try to save as much cap room as they can and fill in holes with guys already on the roster if possible. He didn't follow that up by suggesting they would roll that  cap space over into next year when the cap will go down, but that would be the logical conclusion if they don't spend it this season.
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I have no issues with letting the youngsters sink or swim and using the cap space next season...will be tough due to the nature of this season but the sooner you know what you have with the kids the easier it will be to figure out what to do for next year when they have the ability to make a very large splash.

 
Boston said:
I have no issues with letting the youngsters sink or swim and using the cap space next season...will be tough due to the nature of this season but the sooner you know what you have with the kids the easier it will be to figure out what to do for next year when they have the ability to make a very large splash.
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I would like them to probably spend some money on this season. Before the opt outs people were thinking third best team in AFC. So this wasn’t a rebuilding year or tank for a Lawrence year. Spend the money and make this team be the best it can be. 
 

Belichick and coaching staff coach versatility and build different game plans each week. That will be an advantage this year. I say load up now. 

 
Blackbear said:
I would like them to probably spend some money on this season. Before the opt outs people were thinking third best team in AFC. So this wasn’t a rebuilding year or tank for a Lawrence year. Spend the money and make this team be the best it can be. 
 

Belichick and coaching staff coach versatility and build different game plans each week. That will be an advantage this year. I say load up now. 
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Part of the strategy for this year was to start weening off the older, expensive guys and start working in the kids. Get off some bad contracts, get rid of a ton of dead cap money. Then next year the young guys would have some experience, they could draft another crop of upside guys (maybe a couple work out), and have a ton of cap space for Bill to go shopping.

I don't think they are a true contender this year (IIRC, they lost 8 starters from last year), nor do I think the league will be able to play out the season. The other problem is if they start adding players / contracts to this year (free agents? trades?) , next year they still get the cap hit from the opt outs on top of the new fill in guys (if longer than one year) in a year where the cap will go down $23 million. Bottom line, they probably won't win this year (if there is a year) and could end up with limited cap space again next year (to go along with no experienced QB once Cam leaves . . . but that's a whole 'nother  discussion).

And that ignores the obvious question of where are they going to find worthwhile options to spend $30 million on for this year?

 
Anarchy99 said:
Part of the strategy for this year was to start weening off the older, expensive guys and start working in the kids. Get off some bad contracts, get rid of a ton of dead cap money. Then next year the young guys would have some experience, they could draft another crop of upside guys (maybe a couple work out), and have a ton of cap space for Bill to go shopping.

I don't think they are a true contender this year (IIRC, they lost 8 starters from last year), nor do I think the league will be able to play out the season. The other problem is if they start adding players / contracts to this year (free agents? trades?) , next year they still get the cap hit from the opt outs on top of the new fill in guys (if longer than one year) in a year where the cap will go down $23 million. Bottom line, they probably won't win this year (if there is a year) and could end up with limited cap space again next year (to go along with no experienced QB once Cam leaves . . . but that's a whole 'nother  discussion).

And that ignores the obvious question of where are they going to find worthwhile options to spend $30 million on for this year?
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Anarchy, who’s strategy? Did Bill tell you this?

I don’t mind if they don’t spend all the 30 million. But spend enough to give this team a good shot at making the playoffs. I don’t buy this bologna about we can’t contend so let’s just not try. Losers do that. The Jets and Dolphins do that. 

Also, I’m pretty sure the Pats have won the Super Bowl in years where fans head into the season saying probably not a chance at it this year. 

 
So I was thinking about another possible factor recently, and it has been alluded to in here recently with some of the opt outs. 

If there is a general vibe that develops around the league, or perhaps around specific teams, that they won't be able to cap the season with some kind of playoffs/Super Bowl, then I question just how seriously players are going to take this. It's football so I would coach them to take it quite seriously. But I wonder if we're going to see ProBowl level play. And by ProBowl I mean that actual game where nobody really rushes the passer, half ### blocks, etc. Are we going to see the old "business decision" on every play? Will we see more 70 yard TDs as a result?

I'd call that glass half empty thinking but if a SB doesn't look like it's going to happen, I wonder how much the product will suck. 

 
Blackbear said:
Anarchy, who’s strategy? Did Bill tell you this?

I don’t mind if they don’t spend all the 30 million. But spend enough to give this team a good shot at making the playoffs. I don’t buy this bologna about we can’t contend so let’s just not try. Losers do that. The Jets and Dolphins do that. 

Also, I’m pretty sure the Pats have won the Super Bowl in years where fans head into the season saying probably not a chance at it this year. 
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Who said anything about not trying? For starters, there are not a lot of impact options for them to sign. Most players that are still free agents are replacement level at best and below average at worst. Maybe they can dip into the roster cut pool  right before the season starts. But it doesn’t make sense to make an an over average monetary investment to acquire below average in players. 

Where are they going to find starter worthy   RT / LB / S at this late date? There may still be other guys opting out. 

 
Anarchy99 said:
Who said anything about not trying? For starters, there are not a lot of impact options for them to sign. Most players that are still free agents are replacement level at best and below average at worst. Maybe they can dip into the roster cut pool  right before the season starts. But it doesn’t make sense to make an an over average monetary investment to acquire below average in players. 

Where are they going to find starter worthy   RT / LB / S at this late date? There may still be other guys opting out. 
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You mentioned tackles and line backers above. Even if they are average I think they should get them. At safety I think they drafted Dugger and brought in Phillips. There was also talk last year of converting Joen Williams to safety. 

 
nittanylion said:
Wonder why no announcements yet today...
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Maybe it's almost over.

If I'm not mistaken all teams have had to report by now and by report I mean have players show up for first Covid test. I'm not sure that any of the players who opted out so far showed up to take their Covid test which makes sense they'd not want to go to team facility. So if my thought process is right, and it may not be, that if players who show up for the initial Covid test are not opting out we may be almost over save for a few that might change their mind after having got tested.

 
Per Jim Trotter, the PA is urging players to take their time wit the decision, since it is irreversible. He claims there are several "Pro Bowl caliber" players still considering.

 
Mystery Achiever said:
Per Jim Trotter, the PA is urging players to take their time wit the decision, since it is irreversible. He claims there are several "Pro Bowl caliber" players still considering.
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None of the players who have opted out so far have been able to make it official because as of yesterday, and I've not seen any updates today to the contrary, there are actually some details still being worked out in the opt out agreement and due to that they don't have the form ready for players to actually sign and make it official.

So right now anyone can say they are opting out, but no one can actually make that irreversible decision until they actually have the agreement complete and form ready to be signed. But right now saying you are opting out is not irreversible.

 
Titans_fan said:
150k loan to be specific.  They're essentially getting an advance on next year's salary.  (The ones getting the 350k because of legit opt out reasons is a stipend that doesn't have to be paid back).

At least I think that's correct...
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To me, that is even worse - I guess in some cases they would get a loan off of a non-guaranteed contract, but if you are only in the league a few years, no one would stop me (unless I was concerned myself) from earning a paycheck.  It just doesn't make sense, unless they willingly opt out.  But to trust a GM that I am guaranteed to get that year in earnings back, no way.

 
barackdhouse said:
So I was thinking about another possible factor recently, and it has been alluded to in here recently with some of the opt outs. 

If there is a general vibe that develops around the league, or perhaps around specific teams, that they won't be able to cap the season with some kind of playoffs/Super Bowl, then I question just how seriously players are going to take this. It's football so I would coach them to take it quite seriously. But I wonder if we're going to see ProBowl level play. And by ProBowl I mean that actual game where nobody really rushes the passer, half ### blocks, etc. Are we going to see the old "business decision" on every play? Will we see more 70 yard TDs as a result?

I'd call that glass half empty thinking but if a SB doesn't look like it's going to happen, I wonder how much the product will suck. 
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I think its hard for pro athletes to play at "half level" on a consistent basis. that is kind of how players get hurt and once it is on film in a game, that can hurt guys playing for contracts, etc. 

With that being said, I think it is a certainty that the product will suck to "pro bowl" levels. It is going to be sloppy and I think we will all feel a little cheapened and let down, all in all. 

 
Shutout said:
I wonder if we see some dominos fall if some big names opt out?  
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Maybe if people are on the fence. Some Phillies with pregnant wives were on the fence and may be if one decided the other would  have. But they felt the organization was doing things right and didn't do it. Of course, that was before they played the Marlins....

 
Mystery Achiever said:
Maybe if people are on the fence. Some Phillies with pregnant wives were on the fence and may be if one decided the other would  have. But they felt the organization was doing things right and didn't do it. Of course, that was before they played the Marlins....
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Good point. It sucks.  You can't just NOT work at your career and make great money when you have the opportunity but it is SO hard to see that maybe there are more important things sometimes. I wish the choices were out of players and coaches hands. I think some people will end up with some significant regret here and there.  

 
@Shutout Maybe  a matter of degree, For the Phillies guys, it was just a normal level of concern, compared to Marquise Goodwin who has such a tragic history trying to have kids.

 
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menobrown said:
Maybe it's almost over.

If I'm not mistaken all teams have had to report by now and by report I mean have players show up for first Covid test. I'm not sure that any of the players who opted out so far showed up to take their Covid test which makes sense they'd not want to go to team facility. So if my thought process is right, and it may not be, that if players who show up for the initial Covid test are not opting out we may be almost over save for a few that might change their mind after having got tested.
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This aged poorly

 
IIRC, there is not a finalized date for players to opt out yet. I saw on PFT that the date will be 7 days after the NFLPA signs the revised CBA documents for this season. Last I heard, that had not happened yet, so the deadline for players to decide was 8/4 but would keep moving until the finalized paperwork was signed. Bottom line, players electing to opt out could be an evolving, ongoing process for a while.

 
Blackbear said:
Just wait until they sign Shady again. 🤣
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Or something like CEH tears an ACL right off the bat and the Chiefs are calling Jay Ajayi and Spencer Ware, etc.  

This is what we could be in store for this season.  When the next man up becomes the ma whofollwed the man who followed the man, we could be watching some XFL level quality football.  

 
Shutout said:
Or something like CEH tears an ACL right off the bat and the Chiefs are calling Jay Ajayi and Spencer Ware, etc.  

This is what we could be in store for this season.  When the next man up becomes the ma whofollwed the man who followed the man, we could be watching some XFL level quality football.  
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Doesn't really matter at RB. 

If it happens at QB, that's when watchability starts being effected. Could see some videogame numbers from the healthy stud QBs in entrenched offenses that don't need preseason, against diminished defenses. 

 
ConnSKINS26 said:
Doesn't really matter at RB. 

If it happens at QB, that's when watchability starts being effected. Could see some videogame numbers from the healthy stud QBs in entrenched offenses that don't need preseason, against diminished defenses. 
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Or if it happens to key defenders.  We think of the QB all the time but we all know those run defenses don't work, those sacks don't happen, those passes don't get broken up when a team is missing a couple of my guys.   

For the ones who still play FF, the grieving and bragging thread will be your best friend this season because I feel like there will be a LOT of formerly irrelevant guys few people ever heard of that will be carrying the day for teams all over the fantasy landscape. It's gonna be like weeks 14-17 where the 3rd string RB scores3 yes and wins the league all season long.  

 
Heard a rumor today that a bigger name player for the Bears is going to opt out by the deadline on the 3rd or 4th. Rumor and I stress rumor is it is Nick Foles. 

Leaving it up, but retracting my rumor. Thanks for the update @Mystery Achiever

 
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Foles rumor was debunked yesterday.

Mike Garafolo@MikeGarafolo

Jul 28

#RealNews: Nick Foles is not opting out. The #Bears QB competition remains on. This rumor of a Foles opt-out has been making the rounds since this morning. It's not true.

John Clark@JClarkNBCS

· Jul 28

#FakeNews Spoke to a family member of Nick Foles and he will be there at Bears camp tomorrow. He is not opting out twitter.com/howar

 
Blackbear said:
Currently infected and temporary inactive I could find are:

Kenny Golloday, Justin Jefferson, Keshawn Vaughn, and TJ Hockenson
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I have heard it reiterated several times that these guys may or may not be infected and that it may simply be a result of having come into contact with someone who is infected. If there is other knowledge about them *actually* testing positive, let's see it. Not saying it doesn't exist, but so far this is the first I've seen anyone refer to a player with an active infection (not that it would be a surprise).

 
Anarchy99 said:
IIRC, there is not a finalized date for players to opt out yet. I saw on PFT that the date will be 7 days after the NFLPA signs the revised CBA documents for this season. Last I heard, that had not happened yet, so the deadline for players to decide was 8/4 but would keep moving until the finalized paperwork was signed. Bottom line, players electing to opt out could be an evolving, ongoing process for a while.
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Unless they reach an agreement late tonight I recently read the deadline as of tomorrow is 8/6 and as you said will continue to move until the paperwork is finalized.

Does anyone know if Nate Solder or Damian Williams went to their teams facilities? I'd still like to know if players are showing up for that initial test and later opting out or have all the opt out's been done by players who just did not show? It matters to me if it's the latter as that to me would seem to decrease odds of players later opting out who actually reported.

 
JoeSteeler said:
Does the sickle cell trait put players at a higher risk? 

Tevin Coleman

John Brown

Antonio Brown
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Yes on the sickle cell trait and I think somewhere in this thread I referenced Tevin and John Brown  earlier but their contracts would likely give them one heck of a decision if they are really worried. Tevin makes more then he'll probably ever see again(assuming he makes the team) and John Brown as a 30 year old speed receiver who is on second year of his nice payday. Of course while it's a lot less money I would have not thought Damian Williams was in position to walk away from his contract this year so for sure I can't say money is only factor as some players are proving is not the case.

As for AB I figure if he was the least bit concerned he'd not be working out maskless with people last few months and flying around shooting terrible rap videos and stuff. He don't care.

 
barackdhouse said:
I have heard it reiterated several times that these guys may or may not be infected and that it may simply be a result of having come into contact with someone who is infected. If there is other knowledge about them *actually* testing positive, let's see it. Not saying it doesn't exist, but so far this is the first I've seen anyone refer to a player with an active infection (not that it would be a surprise).
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Ahh, I see what you are saying. Should have said possibly infected or exposed to infected. I am trying to have a list going of fantasy relevant players that have gone on this list. 

 
menobrown said:
I would have not thought Damian Williams was in position to walk away from his contract this year so for sure I can't say money is only factor as some players are proving is not the case.
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While not directly reprisal / retribution, one would think this pretty much ends DW's career.  A mediocre 28yo RB opting out for a season is going  have a hard time playing next year.  

 
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