Patriots: Bill Belichick responds to string of opt outs by big-name players

Patriots HC Bill Belichick spoke on the wave of player opt-outs this week.

There’s been a flood of players across the NFL who have elected to opt out of the upcoming 2020 season due to apprehension surrounding the ongoing global pandemic.

As we know, the Patriots were perhaps the team impacted the most as a grand total of six players, including three full-time starters — linebacker Dont’a Hightower, offensive lineman Marcus Cannon, and safety Patrick Chung —  will all sit out. Wideout Marqise Lee joined them on Saturday too.

These seven losses are the largest any team has faced thus far, but Bill Belichick isn’t holding any grudges against players choosing to not play, as they are clearly prioritizing the health and safety of their respective families.

On Friday, the legendary head coach addressed the rapid string of opt outs in a video conference call with reporters, and his comments should help ease the mind of what is understandably an alarmed fan base.

“Well, I respect all of them. I respect all of the players on our team,” said Belichick. “We all have to make decisions and I talked to those guys and they explained their situations. They had to make a decision that was best for them and I totally respect and support it 100%.”

Did anybody seriously think that Belichick wasn’t going to sympathize with and respect the decisions (which couldn’t have been easy) of his players? We get that the 68-year-old is obsessed with winning and is regarded as a no-nonsense drill sergeant in NFL circles, but he’s still clearly an empathetic person.

The six-time Super Bowl champ also noted that he will not reveal whether any Patriots have tested positive for COVID-19 since testing began at the beginning of the week because the organization, “by state and federal law,” isn’t legally allowed to discuss that.

According to the boss himself, the Patriots will begin Phase 1 of their offseason program next week. This will comprise of activities such as meetings with new free-agent signings and taking part in mini camp that, in normal circumstances, would have been completed by April.

As understanding as Belichick is being, it really comes as no surprise that he’s pushing forward amid this untimely adversity as the pandemic has him and his coaching staff significantly behind the eight ball in terms of preparation for the 2020 season.