AROUND THE NFL

Daily Briefing

NFC NORTH

DETROIT The biggest book in Lions camp is the team’s Wuhan Covid-19 protocol.  Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com: These are unusual times for everyone, and NFL teams are no exception. And Lions General Manager Bob Quinn illustrated that in describing how the team has prepared its facility for hosting training camp in a pandemic.   Quinn said he has a detailed binder full of all the recommendations and rules the NFL has sent to teams about safety requirements, and that binder has grown so rapidly that learning that is now a bigger task than learning the Lions’ playbook.   “It’s bigger than our playbook,” Quinn said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.   Quinn said the Lions have put their facility through 10 deep cleans and put plexiglass between lockers in the locker room in an effort to make sure the virus doesn’t spread.   So far, the Lions have not reported any player opt-outs or positive COVID-19 tests. They’re working hard to keep it that way.

MINNESOTA RB DALVIN COOK reported to camp which is good news for Vikings fans.  But DL MICHAEL PIERCE takes a “high risk” opt out.  Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com: The suspense is over. For now.   Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook was one of the first Vikings players to show up at TCO Performance Center on Tuesday, the team’s mandatory reporting date for veteran players, to take his initial COVID-19 test, a league source told ESPN. Cook is expected to take a part in this afternoon’s virtual meetings that begin for veteran players, sources said.   By reporting on time, Cook will not lose credit for the 2020 season, which would have made him a restricted free agent in 2021 instead of an unrestricted free agent.   The running back’s camp announced in June that Cook would hold out from all team activities until he receives a contract extension entering the final year of his rookie contract. According to multiple sources, Vikings coaches and staff had been under the impression that Cook was always planning to show up at the mandatory reporting date.   Over the weekend, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer told reporters that he expected Cook to report on Tuesday and cited the running back as having told him of his intentions. Cook’s agent, Zac Hiller, refuted the coach’s comments, telling ESPN that Cook “has not spoken to [Zimmer] in regards to reporting to camp. We are unsure why this was said. I hope Dalvin can continue to play a major role in the Vikings future success.”   On Monday, Zimmer announced on the Vikings radio affiliate KFAN that Cook would be a captain for the 2020 season.   Cook is set to make $1.3 million on the final year of his rookie contract. The running back is still in search of a contract extension with the Vikings.   Minnesota also learned on Tuesday that recently acquired defensive lineman Michael Pierce is opting out for the 2020 season due to respiratory concerns during the coronavirus pandemic. Pierce, 27, signed a three-year, $27 million contract with the Vikings in March and was expected to replace Linval Joseph at nose tackle.   “If I caught [the coronavirus], I probably would be in some real trouble,” Pierce, who suffers from asthma, told the Pioneer Press. “If I were to get sick, any time you’re talking about a fatality or ending up in the hospital for months, that’s not really a good decision.”   The $3 million base salary Pierce was set to make during his first year in Minnesota will now be his salary for 2021. Because he falls into the high-risk category, he will receive a $350,000 stipend by opting out of the season.   “It’s not about the money,” Pierce said. “If I was a normal human being with a normal functioning respiratory system, I’d be out there without a thought. It’s an unfortunate situation but it’s something I’ve been battling and I got to deal with the rest of my life. So, hopefully we get a vaccine or something where I can get back out here this spring. But as of right now, it’s not going to be possible.” Dan Graziano of ESPN.com explains why Cook (and others like him) are reporting: Dalvin Cook showed up for work Tuesday, on the day the Minnesota Vikings were scheduled to report to training camp. No, the running back does not yet have the new contract extension he wants. And no, in spite of the threat he reportedly made in June, there was never really a chance he was going to hold out of camp either way.   The traditional training camp holdout by a player entering the final year of his contract is not something you can expect to see much this year, and it has nothing to do with the coronavirus pandemic. The reason camp holdouts are mostly a thing of the past is what the league’s new collective bargaining agreement, approved in March by owners and players, says about them. Here’s the exact text in Article 8, Section 1(b):   A player shall not receive an Accrued Season for any League Year in which the player is under contract to a Club and in which (i) he failed to report to the Club’s preseason training camp on that player’s mandatory reporting date; or (ii) the player thereafter failed to perform his contract services for the Club for a material period of time, unless he demonstrates to the Impartial Arbitrator extreme personal hardship causing such failure to report or perform, such as severe illness or death in the family.   This was a priority for the owners in the last round of CBA talks. They wanted to stiffen penalties for training camp holdouts, and they did. The previous CBA stipulated that players could lose an accrued season only if they didn’t show up to camp by the date 30 days before the team’s first regular-season game. So, in Cook’s case, that date would have been Aug. 14. Under the new CBA, it was Tuesday.   Why does this matter? Losing an accrued season affects a player’s free-agency status. As a 2017 draft pick, Cook has accrued three seasons so far, and he needs four to be eligible for unrestricted free agency. If he didn’t earn an accrued season for 2020, then next March he’d only be a restricted free agent, meaning the Vikings would have the right to match any offer he got from another team.   Now, even when the mandatory reporting date was later under the old rules, this didn’t stop everyone. For example, last year, Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott held out well past that 30-days-before-the-season mark as he headed into his fourth year, which meant that if he would have hit free agency this past March he would have been a restricted free agent instead of an unrestricted one. Elliott didn’t care, figuring his accomplishments over his first three seasons — i.e., leading the league in rushing yards twice and in rushing yards per game in the other year — would prevent restricted free agency from limiting his market. It didn’t matter in the end, because he signed an extension with the Cowboys right before the season.   But a player like Cook, even as great as he is, can’t assume the same thing Elliott could. Cook has missed 19 games because of injury in his three-year NFL career, and even if he were to put together an outstanding and healthy season, there’s no way to be sure a team would be willing to outbid the Vikings for him and part with a second-round draft pick.   So Cook is there, as Joe Mixon almost certainly will be in Cincinnati and Alvin Kamara in New Orleans and George Kittle in San Francisco and all of the other guys who are going into the final years of their contracts and want new ones will be in the cities in which their teams play. Holding out a couple of days into camp carries a stiffer penalty than it ever used to carry, and it doesn’t make sense unless you’re a star quarterback or someone who can feel confident that restricted free agency wouldn’t, well, restrict you. – – – The head trainer of the Vikings, in charge of preventing the team from getting Wuhan Covid-19, has tested positive.  Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: A day before Vikings veterans were scheduled to report to training camp, the team announced Monday that head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman — who is also in charge of the team’s COVID-19 prevention strategy as its infection control officer — has tested positive for the virus.   The team said in a statement that Sugarman and family members, who also tested positive for the virus over the weekend, are in self-quarantine. The Vikings tested the people who were in close contact with Sugarman, and they found no additional cases in the front office and added that no players have been in contact with Sugarman.   “Eric immediately shared his results with the organization and began to follow the previously established comprehensive protocol created by the NFL and national and local health experts,” the Vikings said.   Sugarman had been going through regular coronavirus testing, which started last week as the Vikings prepare for training camp, but he and his family took an additional test last week that revealed the positive result.   “At this time we are all doing fine and experiencing only mild symptoms,” Sugarman said of his wife and two sons in the team’s statement.

NFC EAST

NEW YORK GIANTS T NATE SOLDER will report to Giants camp reports Darin Gantt of ProFootballTalk.com: Giants left tackle Nate Solder is well aware of what a high-risk case looks like, since he has one at home.   That’s not going to stop him from playing this year.   According to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post, Solder is not opting out this season, despite his son’s years-long battle with kidney cancer.   His son was diagnosed when he was 3 months old, when Solder was playing with the Patriots.   Solder’s also the Giants’ NFLPA representative, so he’s been a part of discussions all offseason about safety within team facilities.   He didn’t report yesterday with other veterans, but the 32-year-old tackle planned to arrive today.

NFC SOUTH

TAMPA BAY Fearless QB TOM BRADY was working out with a Covid-19 survivor/carrier.  This on TE CAMERON BRATE from Liz Roscher of YahooSports.com: Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cameron Brate, who was often seen working out with Tom Brady and other teammates this spring, announced on Wednesday that he has recovered from COVID-19.   Until now, no one knew that Brate had contracted the virus, but the experience affected him enough that he shot a video asking fellow COVID-19 survivors to donate plasma.   “The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating effect on our population and it continues to impact nearly every aspect of our lives. But there’s an important way you may be able to help friends, family and our community as we battle this disease by donating plasma. If you were diagnosed with COVID-19 or tested positive with antibodies and fully recovered and are symptom free for at least two weeks, please consider visiting a local donor center. Simply go to Oneblood.org to find a convenient location, book an appointment or learn more. We’re all in this together and your donation can make a difference in someone’s life.”   COVID-19 antibodies, which are present in the plasma of people who tested positive for COVID-19, are one of the treatment methods being investigated by the FDA. Antibodies help people who are sick fight the infection, and antibodies from those who have recovered could do the same thing for people who are seriously ill from the virus.   Brate didn’t discuss when he had COVID-19, where he caught it, his symptoms or the severity. While he was working out with Brady and other teammates this spring, even after the NFLPA asked players to stop organizing their own in-person workouts with teammates, there’s no indication that he caught it from or gave it to any of them, or was working out with them while he was infected.

NFC WEST

SAN FRANCISCO John Lynch’s contract as GM arrived sooner than later.  Mike Garafolo with the newsmaking tweet:   @MikeGarafolo The #49ers have agreed to terms on a multi-year contract extension with GM John Lynch, sources say. They’re buttoning up the language on the deal, which is expected to span five years in all. An outside-the-box hire, Lynch is on to his second contract.

AFC WEST

KANSAS CITY S TEDRIC THOMPSON and G KELECHI OSEMELE are late Chiefs signings. Free-agent safety Tedric Thompson has agreed to a contract with the Kansas City Chiefs, his agent announced Tuesday night.   Agent David Canter made the announcement on Instagram:   Terms of the contract were not disclosed.   Thompson becomes the second veteran free agent added by the Chiefs on the eve of training camp, joining guard Kelechi Osemele, who agreed to a contract with the team after Laurent Duvernay-Tardif opted out of the 2020 season.   Thompson provides insurance for the Chiefs at free safety with Juan Thornhill recovering from a torn ACL, which he suffered last December.   The Seattle Seahawks waived Thompson on May 31 with a failed physical designation. His 2019 season ended after six games because of a shoulder injury that required labrum surgery.   Thompson, 25, was a fourth-round pick by Seattle in 2017 and was up and down in 16 starts over the past two seasons after taking over for Earl Thomas at free safety.

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS The Chargers give some big money to their BOSA.  Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com: The Chargers and defensive end Joey Bosa reached an agreement on an extension Tuesday, with league sources telling ESPN’s Adam Schefter it’s a five-year, $135 million deal that will keep Bosa in Los Angeles for the next six seasons.   Sources said the deal includes $78 million guaranteed at signing and $102 million guaranteed, a record for a defensive player. The Chargers announced the agreement but not the terms.   Bosa’s extension also amounts to the largest contract ever awarded by the Chargers and is the first contract to reach $100 million in franchise history.   Bosa reported to training camp Tuesday but, in a short video published by the Chargers, displayed no hints that a deal was close and said only, “I made it,” as he walked by the camera.   The third overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft, Bosa is entering the final season of his rookie contract. He is scheduled to earn $14.4 million.   On Monday, the day before veteran players were scheduled to report to camp, Chargers general manager Tom Telesco provided few details when asked about Bosa’s contract situation.   “I’m hoping we’ll have 86 healthy players,” Telesco said when asked if he expected Bosa to report or hold out.   When asked again, specifically about Bosa’s contract, Telesco said, “I just don’t really have any comments on contracts.”   Telesco did say, however, that the Chargers are in solid salary-cap shape despite the probability that the cap will drop in 2021 because of financial fallout caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The NFL and NFL Players Association recently agreed to a $175 million salary-cap floor next season.   “We’re set up pretty well looking into the future, even though we do have players that we still would like to extend,” Telesco said. “We’re going to be just fine and be able to do what we want to do.”   Bosa’s deal comes less than two weeks after Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett signed a then-record-setting extension that included $100 million in guarantees.   Bosa’s contract also tops those of Chicago Bears outside linebacker Khalil Mack and Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who signed deals that included $90 million and $86.9 million in guarantees, respectively, before the 2018 season.   Bosa, who turned 25 this month, has been dominant since entering the NFL. He has averaged 0.8 sacks per game, which ranks fourth in the league behind Arizona Cardinals outside linebacker Chandler Jones, Donald and Garrett, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. – – – Meanwhile, Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com has some thoughts on the Chargers QB battle: Los Angeles Chargers QB · Justin Herbert vs. Tyrod Taylor I can’t remember a quarterback drafted in the top 10 who engendered less buzz heading into his rookie season than Herbert. Perhaps that’s because the shortened offseason has likely short-circuited his chances to take a starting job that many assumed was Taylor’s all along.   After 46 career starts, the book is out on Taylor. It’s a solid read. He is an incredible runner and a too-careful passer whose style leads to a lot of sacks, a handful of wow throws, very few interceptions and close games. Approaching league average may be just what coach Anthony Lynn is looking for. Herbert is a similar player to Taylor in many ways, but this battle isn’t like the one Taylor waged against Baker Mayfield in 2018. Herbert figures to be more raw, with less time to impress. If Tyrod can keep the Chargers at .500 or above, he may well play the whole season.

AFC NORTH

BALTIMORE QB LAMAR JACKSON is hoping the Ravens will decide to try to persuade Antonio Brown to abandon his shaky decision to retire: Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson worked out with Antonio Brown this offseason and enjoyed the experience enough to endorse Baltimore signing the wideout for the 2020 season.   Brown has not signed a contract with the team, but that hasn’t entirely dashed Jackson’s hopes of sharing the field with Brown this fall.   “It was nice throwing to Antonio Brown. I was hoping we would get him. I’m still hoping — a little bit,” Jackson said on Wednesday, via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com.   Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta said the team was always assessing potential opportunities in April, but a June report indicated the team would be an unlikely landing spot for Brown.   Even if that were to change, it’s not clear that Brown would be able to play for the Ravens or anyone else in the early part of the 2020 season. Brown remains under league investigation for Personal Conduct Policy violations, although he recently asked the league to make a determination on his status.

AFC SOUTH

HOUSTON D JOHNSON is going to be the Texans primary running back.  But which one?  Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com: Houston Texans RB · Duke Johnson vs. David Johnson Texans coach Bill O’Brien will be motivated to prove that David Johnson was a valuable part of the DeAndre Hopkins trade, but it’s been a while since the former Cardinal was a difference-maker. Duke Johnson, meanwhile, remains the Rodney Dangerfield of running backs despite being one of the most valuable Texans in their playoff win over the Bills last season.

THIS AND THAT

COPING WITH CORONA Jason LaCanfora of CBSSports.com doubts the NFL will play 16 games this season. Sports were supposed to be our reward.   If we did things right as a country and if we let science rule and we were good teammates to one another out in the community and if our leaders avoided silly, avoidable pratfalls like not wearing masks and not adhering to critical health standards, then maybe, just maybe, come late summer there would be joy in Mudville and Green Bay, and, well, you get the picture.   If the numbers were decreasing and the curve was flat, and if testing was readily available across the country with results produced in hours and not days, then we could allow ourselves to concoct a scenario in which September was filled with a daily cornucopia of pro sports on tap, almost around the clock, from the NBA to NHL to MLB to NFL.   But, alas, we are nowhere close to the purported standards that were set back in March and COVID-19 is raging in hotspots across the country. Fears are already confirmed as Major League Baseball — which, like football, is having teams travel all over the U.S. and does not have a strict bubble of any sort — was unable to get through its first weekend of regular season play without the virus running rampant among the Miami Marlins. It got to the point where a game has already been cancelled and their season seems already compromised.   Folks, this is not doom and gloom. This is not rooting against sports. This is our reality. As a country. For sports leagues. And for sports fans. As someone who feeds his family reporting and writing and talking about the NFL 12 months a year, and who spends four hours a day on the radio commenting on sports, this is the last thing I would ever want. No one wants games to analyze and roster moves and transactions to obsess about more than me. But I also watch the news and read the paper, and sports is anything but immune to what it happening in Texas and Arizona and Florida and Georgia and so many other states where pro football is played.   It’s not rooting against sports — it’s stating what has long been obvious, it’s shooting people straight. It’s venting a frustration about the lackluster national response to the worst pandemic in over 100 years, which was always going to make the enterprise of trying to play these sports a miracle, or something close to it. This is wishing we had responded differently. This is wishing that this hadn’t seemed inevitable all along, given the lack of any collective response outside of states and cities grappling with it individually on their own.   “If they have an eight-game schedule somewhere over there on Park Ave. (at the NFL league office), now might be a good time to let us know,” said one AFC team executive this morning as word of MLB’s first major COVID-19 outbreak spread.   “I never understood the race to get people back in our buildings with the season not starting until September,” said another high-ranking team official. “And we’re playing 16 games in this? Really?”   This is why some GMs I’ve talked to believed 10 or 12 games would be the max. This is why another GM recently caught himself talking about “when” the season starts, and quickly changed it to “if.”   Even a sport in a bubble, like MLS in Orlando, had to send teams home before the tournament actually started, if you recall. Things are going well now, but chaos reigned early with matches being scratched at the last moment. And the NFL, titan of all sports, is nowhere near a bubble scenario and the scale of its operation is exponentially greater than anything MLB is even trying. No truncated season. No travel only within certain divisions. A full, 16-week schedule, at least so far.   The prospect of getting through a five-month campaign never seemed realistic to the football people I spoke to regularly throughout the offseason. And it feels beyond ambitious right now. Naive? Misguided? Fool hearted?   Pick whichever adjective you think feels most apropos. To this point the NFL has not been willing to entertain anything other than the norm, at least publicly. But within the nine-page memo the NFLPA sent to players and agents on Sunday includes one subsection that belies the fact that the executives from labor and ownership realize even the enterprise of reworked training camps may make more sense in theory than in practice.   From the NFLPA memo:   “Item 7b: Stipend For Cancellation Prior to Roster Cutdown. Item i. — For players on 90-man roster at time of cancellation and who earned a 2019 Credited Season or 2020 Draft picks: $250,000 stipend, NFL player health insurance. Item ii. — For players without 2019 Credited Season and 2020 undrafted: $50,000 stipend.”   Teams can opt to cut down to 90 players now, or wait until August, but regardless, the worst-case scenario for the NFL and its players is already baked into the cake. And it would have been ridiculous, given what is transpiring in hospitals across this country and what MLB is already dealing with, for such terms to have not been negotiated. Determining how to handle the economics of a shortened or aborted NFL season was one of the final big lingering issues in these months of talks, and it seems quite likely to be one of the more important pieces of the massaged collective bargaining agreement.   And if in fact, a nationwide enterprise as exhaustive as the NFL, which takes thousands upon thousands of people to maintain it on a weekly basis, does not work, should anyone paying close attention to COVID-19 in this country be surprised? There is no one to blame within the sport or the union. If anything, the NFL and NFLPA should be commended for doing the work they did — very quietly and productively and in a far more professional manner than in MLB’s case — to even reach this point.   But it was always contingent on certain medical standards being met and the virus being contained and testing and tracing helping to lead cities and states out of the abyss. And that simply has not been the case. Not even close. This isn’t being negative; it’s merely shooting straight and following the numbers and listening to the doctors and now looking at baseball where the Marlins and Orioles (their next projected opponent) hang in limbo, as well as the Phillies (who hosted the Marlins this weekend) and the Yankees (who were next set to visit Philly). To say nothing of the umpire crews involved, and anyone else who staffed that Marlins/Phillies series.   The tentacles span outward, quickly, and, if anything, the larger numbers of people involved in the daily staging of NFL practices and games, the more extreme travel, the massive size of coaching staffs (rivaling a MLB roster) which include many over the age of 60, and the fact that many of the players are over 300 pounds and more vulnerable to the virus, would seem to portend even greater challenges for what the NFL is attempting to accomplish.   Creating a bubble that large is impossible … but it is also precisely the reason one must brace for gross totals of positive tests to be much higher than other sports. And with players’ families and friends interacting with them, and the outside world, and with no set standard of regulations regarding wearing of masks from state to state, among other preventative measures, the NFL getting through a season has always seemed like the biggest underdog of all.   The ’69 Jets and Joe Namath had far better odds.   This is a crisis far out of the NFL’s control, which is not getting better the closer we get to kickoff. Leaving it up to what amounts to a sports corporation to navigate this unprecedented medical emergency, without any semblance of a unified response within the country itself, was always fraught with peril. With untold billions at stake, and players in a sport where careers are over in an instant, ample motivation remains to plow ahead.   But at some point, perhaps quite soon, something other than a 16-game schedule just may be in order. This virus is undefeated at totally reshaping the way every other sport has been forced to operate, and had a massive impact on both the volume and location of games. Expecting the NFL to be different, somehow exceptional to COVID-19, never made much sense, and once the training facilities finally start filling up this week that stands to be more obvious than ever. Adam Epstein of QZ.com calls on the NFL to change course: The Major League Baseball season is falling apart right after it started. The same fate will befall the National Football League in September if it doesn’t drastically reimagine its protocol for a return to play.   Fourteen members of the Miami Marlins franchise tested positive for Covid-19 in recent days, ESPN reported this morning. The team’s home opener tonight against the Baltimore Orioles has been canceled. MLB executives are reportedly convening an emergency meeting today about the outbreak, which occurred just four days into the planned 60-game season.   Even if the league attempts to proceed without the Marlins, more outbreaks on other teams are a near certainty. Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto, one of the league’s young stars, tested positive for coronavirus hours before the team’s opening game on July 23, and his status for the season remains in limbo. A number of prominent players across the league have tested positive as well.   Unlike the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League, which are set to resume their seasons this week, the MLB’s pandemic-shortened season is not taking place inside a “bubble” designed to limit the contacts between players and staff and the outside world. While NBA and NHL players isolate in one or two locations, MLB players are flying across the country, reusing locker rooms, and interacting with people outside the league as if the US wasn’t still in the throes of a pandemic.   As of today, the NFL plans to conduct its 2020 season the same way—without a bubble. The NFL is also allowing fans at games (though some teams have announced they’ll reduce capacity or prohibit fans entirely). This is a recipe for disaster.   NFL organizations are much bigger and more complex than teams of any other American sport. Rosters are far larger (offseason rosters will be 80 players, before being cut down to 53 once games begin), teams employ more staff, and injuries are more prevalent. The sport itself—predicated on humans grabbing and tackling each other in close quarters—is not exactly conducive to stopping the spread of a highly contagious disease.   Last month, the league’s chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, said a bubble was not “practical or appropriate.” The league has not outlined many specific policies to limit the spread of Covid-19 during the season beyond its testing guidelines.   US infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci has said repeatedly the NFL should implement a bubble if it wants to have a season. “Unless players are essentially in a bubble—insulated from the community and they are tested nearly every day—it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall,” Fauci told CNN in June.   NFL teams are set to begin training camps this week to prepare for the regular season in early September. Each team has its own health and safety protocols. The Los Angeles Rams, for instance, will limit parking spaces and reduce the number of players allowed in the hot tubs at the same time.   So far, the NBA and NHL bubbles have held up relatively well. Out of 348 NBA tests last week, zero were positive for Covid-19. Just two of the NHL’s 800 players tested thus far have been positive. European soccer leagues have managed to safely resume play even without a bubble, because, unlike the US, the countries in which those take place have the virus under control.   The MLB season is a uniquely American blunder. And the NFL season, should the league learn nothing from baseball’s error, is doomed to be a catastrophe.

OPT OUTS A helpful list of Monday’s opt outs from ESPN.com: July 28   Jason Vander Laan, TE, New Orleans Saints Vander Laan, 27, was set to battle for a backup/special teams job on the Saints’ roster after appearing in two games with them last season and also spending time on their practice squad. The fifth-year journeyman also appeared in four games with the Colts in 2017.   Devin Funchess, WR, Green Bay Packers Funchess, who had first-hand experience with COVID-19 this offseason while caring for family members who contracted the virus, has opted out of the 2020 season. The 26-year-old veteran was the only experienced addition the Packers made to their receiving corps, which was viewed as one of the few weaknesses on a team that reached the NFC Championship Game last season.   Jordan Mack, LB, Carolina Panthers Undrafted rookie Jordan Mack became the first member of the Panthers to opt out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No details on why he made the decision were revealed, but he was a long shot to make the 53-man roster.   Leo Koloamatangi, OL, New York Jets Jets offensive lineman Leo Koloamatangi, 26, opted out. He joined the practice squad last season and dressed for two games but saw no action. He was due to make $750,000 this season.   Marquise Goodwin, WR, Philadelphia Eagles In need of more speed at the receiver position, the Eagles acquired Goodwin from the 49ers in April. He was part of the “track team” Philadelphia assembled this offseason along with draft picks and fellow burners Jalen Reagor, John Hightower and Quez Watkins. Family is top of mind for Goodwin. His wife, Morgan, had a baby girl in February after suffering multiple miscarriages.   Michael Pierce, DT, Minnesota Vikings Pierce is opting out for the 2020 season due to respiratory concerns, according to a source. The 27-year-old signed a three-year, $27 million contract with the Vikings in March and was expected to replace Linval Joseph at nose tackle. The $3 million base salary Pierce was set to make during his first year in Minnesota will now be his salary for 2021. Because he falls into the high-risk category, he will receive a $350,000 stipend by opting out of the season.   Star Lotulelei, DT, Buffalo Bills Lotulelei signed a five-year, $50 million deal with the Bills in 2018 and has started at defensive tackle ever since, operating as one of the team’s primary run-stopping defensive linemen. He signed a restructured contract this offseason, guaranteeing him $4.5 million in 2020; his new contract will now activate in 2021. Here’s one of Lotulelei’s teammates weighing in:   Eddie Goldman, DT, Chicago Bears Goldman, 26, has been a stalwart on Chicago’s defensive line since he entered the league as a second-round draft choice in 2015. Bears general manager Ryan Pace has repeatedly referred to Goldman as an “anchor” of Chicago’s defense. He signed a four-year extension with Chicago prior to the 2018 season that contained $25 million in guarantees.   Anthony McKinney, OT, Tennessee Titans McKinney, 22, is the first Titans player to opt out. The 6-foot-7, 316-pound lineman signed with the Titans as an undrafted free agent after two seasons at TCU.   Patrick Chung, S, New England Patriots Chung had agreed to a two-year extension with the Patriots in May that included a $2 million signing bonus and base salary of $1.1 million. While the move was made to help the team create salary-cap space, it also provided Chung with up-front cash and reflected his status as a lock to be on the roster, likely starting alongside Devin McCourty. Chung, 32, was set to enter his 12th NFL season, 11 of which he’s spent with the Patriots.   Cole Wick, TE, New Orleans Saints Wick has opted out because of an asthma condition. Wick, 26, was going to compete for a backup job this summer after joining the Saints’ practice squad late last season. The fifth-year journeyman previously played six games for the Lions in 2016 and five games for the 49ers in 2018.   Eddie Vanderdoes, DT, Houston Texans The 25-year-old Vanderdoes is the first Texans player to opt out of the 2020 season due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. The defensive lineman played in three games for Houston in 2019 after he was activated from the practice squad. Vanderdoes is opting out voluntarily, so his contract rolls over to next season, when he is scheduled to make $825,000.   Kyle Peko, DT, Denver Broncos Peko, who played in seven games for the Broncos in the 2016 and 2017 seasons, was again signed by the Broncos off the Colts practice squad last December and then signed for 2020 earlier this year. His wife, Giuliana, was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin’s lymphoma last year and Peko was briefly excused from Bills training camp last summer to be with her. He announced last season that her treatments had been successful and she was cancer-free, but her battle with cancer would put her in the at-risk demographic for COVID-19.   Stephen Guidry, WR, Dallas Cowboys Guidry, who signed with the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent earlier this year, will be placed on the reserve/voluntary opt-out list. Unlike veteran Maurice Canady, who opted out Monday, he will not receive the $150,00 payout. He will get to keep his $10,000 signing bonus and the Cowboys will continue to hold his rights.   Andre Smith, OT, Baltimore Ravens Smith, 33, was the oldest offensive lineman on the team and was expected to give Baltimore experienced depth at offensive tackle. The Ravens re-signed Smith on Feb. 6 on a one-year, $1.07 million deal ($25,000 guaranteed). The No. 6 overall pick in the 2009 draft, Smith spent his first seven NFL seasons with the Bengals before short stints with the Vikings and Cardinals.   Dont’a Hightower, LB, New England Patriots Hightower is opting out of the 2020 season, league sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday. A three-time Super Bowl champion and team captain, the 6-foot-3, 260-pound Hightower traditionally calls the defensive signals and was going to be relied upon as much as ever this season after the free-agency departures of linebackers Kyle Van Noy and Jamie Collins Sr.   Brandon Bolden, RB, New England Patriots Bolden, 30, was set to enter his ninth NFL season, and eighth in New England. He is a core special-teams player who provides valuable depth on offense. Bolden was set to earn $1.3 million in base salary in 2020, which was the final year of his contract. That will toll to 2021.