Devin McCourty Rips NFL for Handling of Opt-Out Deadline

"I think that it's an absolute joke that the NFL is changing the opt-out period..."

The NFL and NFLPA agreed that the opt-out deadline would happen seven days after the official revision of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which has yet to be signed. That means the deadline could be as late as Sunday, Aug. 9. However, the NFL has decided to ignore that agreement, as they are trying to shorten the window to either this upcoming Tuesday or Wednesday after over 40 players opted out of the 2020 season over the last week. 

Players are obviously not happy about what the NFL is trying to pull. Patriots safety and captain Devin McCourty took the time during his brief video call with reporters on Sunday to express his displeasure with the NFL's handling of the situation. 

"I think it's an absolute joke that the NFL is changing the opt-out period, mainly because they don't want to see guys continue to opt out," McCourty said. “I’m sure they’re shocked about how many guys have opted out, but it’s the same thing as, when we sign the CBA sometimes, some of the things 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? But we can’t. That’s the point of signing an agreement.

“I think it’s terrible. I think it’s B.S. that the league has changed that date, because 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.” 

Over the last six days, eight Patriots players have opted out of the 2020 season. Those players are linebacker Dont'a Hightower, starting right tackle Marcus Cannon, guard Najee Toran, receiver Marqise Lee, running back Brandon Bolden, tight end Matt LaCosse, fullback Dan Vitale, and safety Patrick Chung. 

If any other players from the team want to opt out, they unfortunately don't have a lot of time left to make their decision.