New England Patriots: Why Devin McCourty is fed up with NFL

In his first media availability of the season, New England Patriots veteran Devin McCourty lit up the NFL for its COVID-19 policies.

So far the New England Patriots have seen a large number of players announce that they are opting out of the 2020 NFL season. The most out of any team so far.

One would think that the Patriots would want to do anything in order to stop this but that is not the case. Bill Belichick has been very supportive of players who decide to opt-out and now Devin McCourty is sticking up for his fellow players.

More from Chowder and Champions

• 3 Patriots on the Bubble Who Have Clinched Their 53-Man Roster Spots
• 3 Midseason Chaim Bloom Decisions That Have Killed the 2023 Red Sox
• 10 Patriots Who Will Be Cut by Tuesday’s Roster Deadline
• MLB Screws Red Sox Fans With Broadcast for Mookie Betts Return
• 3 Most Underpaid Celtics Heading Into the 2023 Season

Devin and his twin brother Jason have been very skeptical of the thought of having a season in 2020. If you have listened to their podcast they have talked at lengths about how hard it will be for the NFL to manage this.

We have already seen the debacle that is baseball. MLB has royally messed up the season and it looks like the season could end up being permanently canceled. The NFL can’t afford to do that (baseball can’t either in fact).

As we have seen a large number of players opt out of the season it seems like the NFL is trying to force the player’s hands. They are moving the date in which players have to make a decison in regards to opting out up a whole week. Having some of your star players opt-out isn’t exactly the best look for the league.

In his first media availability of the season, McCourty didn’t mince words and unleashed a verbal attack on the NFL. What he had to say made a lot of sense.

"“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 said in a video conference with Patriots reporters. “I think it’s terrible. I think it’s B.S. that the league has changed that date.”"

The NFL must have known that this was going to happen. If they didn’t then they should just cancel the season.

Also, the names are just beginning to roll in. It’s a safe bet to assume some bigger players will opt-out. It wouldn’t be that big of a surprise to even see the McCourty’s opt-out with how skeptical they have been.

The NFL has to figure things out because if they handle this wrong they won’t even be able to have a season. Kudos to McCourty for sticking up for the players and calling out the league.