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2020 NFL opt-out deadline: Five players opt out on final day, including one Jets receiver

Decisions from the final day for players to opt out of the upcoming NFL season

The NFL and NFLPA finalized the rules surrounding opt-out protocol for the 2020 season earlier this week as players decide whether to risk playing football during a pandemic. The agreement established a firm deadline of 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, which has now come and gone. From here, players will only have the opportunity to opt out if "a close family member gets seriously sick with COVID or if they themselves are newly diagnosed with a high-risk condition," per the NFLPA.

There were two types of opt-out options. Players who qualify as having a high-risk condition will receive a $350,000 stipend that does not count as a salary advance, their contracts will toll, and they will earn an accrued season toward free agency. Those who don't qualify as high risk can choose the voluntary opt-out option, which includes a $150,000 salary advance for the 2021 season and a tolling of contracts but no credit of an accrued season.

Five players were added to the opt-out list Thursday: Jets WR Josh Doctson, Chiefs OT Lucas Niang, Bucs OT Brad Seaton, Jaguars CB Rashaan Melvin and Browns G Malcolm Pridgeon. You can also find the full list of players who have opted out of 2020 broken down by team in our tracker.

Below, you can catch up with the latest news from deadline day as it happened.

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Live updates
 

Thank you to everyone that followed along with our coverage today! The regular season will be here before you know it.

 

We added five new players to the opt-out list today: Jets WR Josh Doctson, Chiefs OT Lucas Niang, Bucs OT Brad Seaton, Jaguars CB Rashaan Melvin, Browns G Malcolm Pridgeon.

 

The final and official list of players that have opted out: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/...

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There are some exceptions for players opting out during the season. If they receive a new medical diagnosis that puts them at risk, then they have the opportunity to opt out. If a family members contracts or is killed by the virus, then they have the chance to opt out. For most players, however, they are now locked into the season.

 

No new opt outs beyond Doctson.
 

Tom Brady's new team is relatively intact.
 

Former first-round pick opts out.
 

One more name that DID opt out.
 

No more opt outs for the Titans. OT Anthony McKinney was the only Tennessee player to opt out.
 

Cowboys edge rusher Tank Lawrence will also play this season.
 

An update on the big name for whom we had been waiting. Bills CB Tre'Davious White has NOT opted out.
 

The deadline has now passed. The day's official transaction wire will not come out until 5 p.m. ET so it is entirely possible we still get some opt outs post 4 p.m. ET.

 

15 minutes away now. It is not necessarily a hard deadline in the sense that yes, players have to provide written notice by 4 p.m. ET but those decisions may not be leaked or revealed to the media until after 4 p.m.

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Rousseau went No. 5 overall to the Giants in my early 2021 mock NFL Draft. Penn State LB Micah Parsons, who has also opted out, went No. 4 overall to the Dolphins. https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/...

 

Another big opt out in college football: Miami edge rusher Gregory Rousseau.
 

One hour left until the deadline. It is quiet right now...too quiet...

 

We are an hour and a half away from the deadline for players to opt out. Here is the up-to-date list of those that have already made the decision. https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/...

 

The fifth Browns player to opt out and four offensive lineman.
 

We are discussing NFL opt outs today but we have also seen three high profile college players opt out of their respective seasons: Virginia Tech CB Caleb Farley, Penn State LB Micah Parsons and Minnesota WR Rashod Bateman. All have first-round potential and will not spend the next eight months working out leading up to the 2021 NFL Draft.

 

Jaguars CB Rashaan Melvin has opted out.
 

One player that will NOT be opting out of the upcoming season: Giants QB Daniel Jones.
 

Tampa Bay was one of the five teams that had not had a player opt out entering today.
 

We may not be done yet.
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Chiefs starting offensive guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif became the first player to opt out on Aug. 24. There has now been a total of 61 players to opt out. The NFL regular season is scheduled to open Thursday, Sept. 10, with the Texans at the Chiefs.

 

High-risk individuals could opt-out and receive a $350,000 stipend whereas those less at risk would receive a $150,000 stipend. If you're a player on the fringe of making the practice squad, it is a difficult decision. Players that are kept on the practice squad for the duration of the year would minimally earn $142,800.

 

Players that elect to opt out must provide the club with written notice of his decision. Once given, the notice will be irrevocable for the remainder of the 2020 season.

 

The Patriots have had twice as many players (8) opt out as any other team. The Browns have had four while the Lions, Jets, Dolphins, Giants, Cowboys, Colts and Chiefs each have had three.

 

There are five teams that have not had at least one player opt out: the Falcons, Rams, Buccaneers, Steelers and Chargers.

 

Tretter also discussed the window of time that players have had to make their decisions:

"Yeah. Originally, we wanted to make sure guys had time to make an educated decision. That is why in the original document we wanted to make sure we carved out about a week. If the document would have went through the editing process quickly, it would have been about seven to nine days for guys to make a decision. In the end because it took so long to come to an agreement on language, guys are going to end up with 13 days to make the decision. I think that is plenty of time."

 

We have our first opt out of the day. The defending Super Bowl champions become even more thin along the offensive line.
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