One of the conditions that will make this season interesting is the NFL’s opt out option for the year. Players take the option, get a package to hold them over for the season, and they can take the year off and be safe. They get a 150k or 350k stipend to cover the year, depending on if they are deemed “high risk”. A good example of a High Risk guy would be the Giants Nate Solder, who has cancer history and also has a family who are high risk. I was not surprised to see him opt out and I’m glad he did it.

So far there really hasn’t been a true star that has opted out, but enough players seemed to be taking the option (namely from the Patriots, with 8 so far) that all of a sudden the NFL announced they would shorten the amount of time players had to make the decision. There was also some speculation that some players who expected to be cut were taking the option so they could get paid no matter what for the year, which…yeah. Do that. More players should do that. This is going to be a bizarre and broken year if it even manages the entire season. Take the cover if you think you don’t have a good chance to make it anyway.

Von Miller almost opted out, he knows first hand how hard Covid hits and is a high risk individual. I think he still should. Not like his job is in danger, but his life sure is.

Joey Bosa honestly had probably the best take about the season so far, if the season manages to occur all the way through. This is going to be a mulligan of a season no matter what. This is going to be a season that a lot of people view with an asterisk no matter what. And if the season lasts, the team that makes it is going to be the team least affected by the virus. In this case, the best asset for every team is going to simply be availability. It is very likely that a few weeks in we will be seeing half a team be backups due to Covid infections and mandatory quarantines. injuries kill so many teams every year, and this year will be that multiplied tenfold. The team that wins this year (provided we don’t get the vaccine out, it gets cancelled, other potential new outcomes, etc) is going to be the team that takes the threat seriously. The one that stupid people will moan about taking it too seriously will probably win. The one with the roster of players who take the most responsibility and accountability will make it to the endgame.

Or maybe the team that simply gets hit first and then recovers by the time everyone else is infected will take the trophy. The Eagles seem to be going for that approach. No wonder Doug got infected.