Devin McCourty: “BS” that the league wants to change opt-out deadline

[Pat Patriot]

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The NFL reportedly wants to change the deadline for opting out from seven days after the revised CBA is finalized (it still hasn’t been signed) to Tuesday or Wednesday of this week. Patriots defensive back Devin McCourty doesn’t like that possibility one bit.

“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 told reporters. “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. You know, 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 BS that the league [wants to change] that date.”

The date hasn’t changed yet. As noted earlier in the day, teams believe some players on the roster bubble are opting out and taking the stipend, and that other players are using the possibility of opting out as leverage to get more money.

Regardless, and as McCourty (who has seen eight of his teammates opt out already) observes, the deal is the deal. If the NFL wanted the deadline to be a specific date and not seven days after the revised CBA is signed, that’s what the NFL should have asked for. And if the NFL wanted to get the window for opt outs closed as quickly as possible, it should have done whatever had to be done to get the deal signed.