Patriots’ Devin McCourty Rips NFL For ‘B.S’ Handling of Opt-Out Deadline

The NFL decided to move up the deadline for player opt-outs. Many players didn’t like this decision and they all voiced their opinion on the deadline. Patriots veteran safety Devin McCourty now rips the NFL for the most recent move. He shared his thoughts during a video conference with media members. According to him, the deadline change is “terrible” and “B.S.” Well, a lot of players may agree with him on this one.

“I think it’s 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,” McCourty said. “I’m sure they’re shocked about how many guys have opted out, but it’s the same thing when we sign the CBA. Sometimes some of those things that we think are good sometimes backfire. We have rookies who are locked in long-term contracts and tagged and 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.

“So I think it’s terrible. I think it’s B.S. that the league has changed that date. Because as you guys know, Monday will be our first day in the building, so to try to make that decision about something other than virtual meetings is a joke.”

Devin McCourty rips the NFL and supports players

Eight Patriots players won’t join the team in September. The Patriots have the highest number of players opting out. NFL players will have to make their final decision until Wednesday according to Adam Schefter from ESPN. This is a little earlier than the initial deadline.

“I think it’s something we go through as players, and when players see how much power they have, we’ve seen things change for us,” McCourty said. “I mean, primarily even with this deal, with COVID-19 and trying to get everything back, we saw some of that strength. So hopefully we’ll see how everything turns come Wednesday, if that ends up being the deadline, but I support guys no matter what they decide.”

The coronavirus pandemic is not a joke and every player knows this. Devin has all the support for his teammates regardless of the decision they make. Each player has the right to decide what works best for them and their families. Some players have health issues. Marcus Cannon for example, struggled with Non-Hodgkin’s lyphoma. Other players have just had their babies. The situation is pretty serious and there are many players who still think of opting-out. Maybe they all need some extra time to make the best decision. Things will be a lot clearer in September. Hopefully, everything will work well for the Patriots and other teams.