Patriots’ Devin McCourty not happy with NFL
The National Football League has seen far more players opt out of the 2020 season than they were anticipating due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the New England Patriots have been decimated by players deciding that playing the upcoming campaign is not worth risking their health for. Head coach Bill Belichick has already lost eight players, with more suggesting that they are still considering the option.
One such player is New England safety and captain Devin McCourty, who spoke out about the issue with reporters during a video call on Sunday. He was not happy with the league trying to push up the deadline in which players can opt out, after seeing so many stars decide to take up the option. “I think it is an absolute joke that the NFL is changing the opt-out period, mainly because they don’t want to continue to see guys opt out. I’m sure they’re shocked about how many guys have opted out,” McCourty told Patriots reporters, via ESPN. “I think it’s terrible. I think it’s B.S. that the league has changed that date.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported that the league was attempting to move the deadline from one week, after the new collective bargaining agreement letter had already been signed and approved. Players are now being forced to rush decisions regarding the health of their family and themselves by as early as Wednesday. Monday was the first day that players were even allowed to start practicing as a squad in their facilities.
“Monday will be our first day in the building, so to try to act like guys are trying to make a decision about something other than virtual meetings is a joke,” he said. “When players understand how much power we have, we’ve seen things change for us; primarily even with this deal, with the COVID-19 and trying to get everything back, we saw some of that strength. Hopefully, we’ll see how everything turns out come Wednesday, if it ends up being the deadline.
“I support guys no matter what they decide, but I’m still out here having fun and figuring things out. So, we’ll see how we go.”
McCourty was drafted in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft by New England and has spent his entire career playing for the Patriots. He is a 3-time Super Bowl champion and has already been named to the Pro Bowl twice in his career as well. He featured in 16 games for Belichick’s side last season, putting up five interceptions and one fumble recovery.
The veteran will be entering his 11th season in the league and knows the significance of the collective bargaining agreement.
“It’s the same thing when we signed the CBA. Sometimes, some of those things that we think are good sometimes backfire. We have rookies that are locked in long-term contracts, and then [franchise] tagged and [franchise] tagged. You guys don’t think we would love to change that about the CBA? But we can’t. That’s the point of signing an agreement,” he said.
It remains to be seen how the situation will play out and whether the league will be able to force their will, but it has become clear that the players are not going to just sit back and take it without being heard first.
