If you're wondering how the NFL is going to pull off a season during the middle of a global pandemic, you're not the only one. Multiple players on the Patriots roster have been asking themselves that same question this week.
Cornerback Jonathan Jones sent out a tweet on Tuesday with a thought that a lot of people around the NFL have been having over the past few weeks.
I don’t know who needs to hear this but you can’t social distance football...
— J Jones (@Jonathan_Jones2) July 14, 2020
Jones' tweet comes roughly one month after Rams coach Sean McVay also sounded skeptical at the idea that football could safely be played in a socially distant manner.
"We're going to social distance, but we're going to play football?" McVay asked in June. "It's really hard for me to understand."
Due to the pandemic, the CDC recommends that people stay at least six feet away from each other at all times in an effort to socially distance themselves. Obviously, you can't do that on a football field, and several Patriots defensive players seem well aware of that.
After Jones sent out his tweet, linebacker Dont'a Hightower responded with this:
Ain’t no way
— Dont'a Hightower (@zeus30hightower) July 14, 2020
Patriots safety Patrick Chung also seems to be wondering how a socially distant NFL season is going to work.
Not a damn shot. They are trippin https://t.co/QJ3MffN1iC
— Patrick Chung (@PatrickChung23) July 14, 2020
According to the McCourty twins, players around the league are now starting to wonder if there will even be a season this year. The twins collaborated to write a column for Sports Illustrated this week and like their teammates, they sounded skeptical that the NFL will be able to play this year.
"As the days roll past in July, every NFL player is scrolling through Twitter, finding out news about the upcoming season, wondering if there will even be a season," the McCourty twins wrote (h/t Pro Football Talk). "So many questions with virtually no answers, all three weeks removed from a potential start to training camp. As fear continues to grow for our nation, it is also being spoken about among us players. Will we have an option to opt out of the season? Will we be making our full salary? What if there is a COVID outbreak within the league? It's so hard to make a decision of whether we will play or not without knowing what the exact plan is."
The good news for football fans is that the questions being asked by the McCourty twins are questions that the NFL and NFLPA are trying to answer right now. The two sides are negotiating and if all goes well, those negotiations will end with everyone feeling comfortable enough to hold a 2020 season.
