Devin & Jason McCourty Unsure How NFL Season Will Play Out
Devin and Jason McCourty don’t think it’s feasible for the NFL to operate in a bubble like the NBA will.
The New England Patriots’ twin defensive backs both feel uneasy about the prospect of returning to work under pandemic conditions.
Dr Anthony Fauci last week recommended that the NFL play the 2020 season in a bubble environment. However, given the sheer size of NFL rosters, plus the associated staff, that would be a tough ask.Â
Unlike the NBA, the NFL is about to have a full season. Devin and Jason McCourty also think it would be unfair to ask players to spend 6 months away from their families.
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“I think it’s very different for football. You think about training camp, there’s 90 guys on the team. Not only are there 90 guys, but there’s a coaching staff usually made up of maybe 15 to 20 … and there are so many other football-essential personnel that are in the building. You’re talking about 32 teams with over 100 members that you have to house; I don’t know if it’s really fathomable for the NFL to be able to go in a bubble,” Jason McCourty said.
“Beyond that, I don’t really know — me, personally, I don’t want to ever say never, but I can’t anticipate me being away from the family for that long throughout the entirety of the season. That would be insane. It would feel like forever.”
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While some nations have had some success in suppressing Covid-19, the threat is still very much real. Devin McCourty points out how the 49ers have had positive tests in recent days.
“I’ve been out here in Nashville, and I actually go run at the high school where I think a lot of the 49ers players were doing their team-practice ordeal. They just had a player or two test positive.
“It’s kind of scary because something like that, I think it was probably just offense, so they probably had maybe 10 guys out there. When you think about the future, if it’s hard for 10 guys just to get together to do little passing drills or anything of that nature, to think about somewhere between 53 and 90 guys in a training camp, it’s going to be insane. So I don’t know how that’s going to turn out.”