‘That’s at the player’s discretion,’ Andy Reid says of opt-outs as NFL deadline looms
Chiefs right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif did it first. Running back Damien Williams followed a week later.
With a league-wide deadline looming Thursday, according to multiple reports, will other players on the Chiefs’ roster elect to opt out of the 2020 NFL regular season because of the COVID-19 pandemic?
“That’s at the player’s discretion,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said during a Tuesday Zoom call. “I don’t know, and that’s not because I don’t communicate with the players. It’s just that’s a personal thing for them, so I don’t interfere with that.”
Duvernay-Tardif, who became the NFL’s first player to opt out, has put his medical degree to good use while working as an orderly in Canada since the onset of the pandemic, which has claimed more than 150,000 deaths in the U.S.
In his announcement, Duvernay-Tardif cited a desire to continue helping patients as a reason for his decision.
Williams informed the Chiefs last week he would not play the season, and then revealed during a guest appearance on SiriusXM Radio that his decision to opt out was based on his mother’s current battle with cancer.
In both situations, the Chiefs have backed the players’ choices.
Reid had previously addressed Duvernay-Tardif’s announcement and on Tuesday voiced his support for Williams.
“Most of all, we wish his mother the best, and she has suffered right now,” Reid said. “And for Damien taking the time to be with her, I think that kind of explains it right there. So, we’re all with them as he works through that.”
The absences of Duvernay-Tardif and Williams are blows to a team seeking to repeat as Super Bowl champions, but the Chiefs appear equipped to address the holes left by their departures.
Veteran guard Kelechi Osemele, a former first-team All-Pro and two-time Pro Bowler, signed a one-year deal with the Chiefs in the wake of Duvernay-Tardif’s announcement. And the Chiefs will lean on rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, the 32nd overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, to immediately contribute.
“We’re going to get Clyde ready to play and he’s going to get ready to play,” Reid said.
In the meantime, the clock is ticking for players in the Chiefs’ locker room to to decide if they are going to play in 2020 or join more than 40 players around the league who’ve already opted out.
Whether that list will ultimately include more Chiefs players or not, Reid is focused on getting the team ready for the regular season.
Kansas City’s rookies and quarterbacks began practice Tuesday with padded shirts and helmets after going through the strength and condition phase of training camp, which the veteran players are now undergoing.
The Chiefs project to come together for their first padded practices of camp on Aug. 14, and Reid likes what he’s observed so far.
“All has gone well,” Reid said.
