Cardinals offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert opts out of 2020 season,
Before Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury talked with reporters on a video conference call at noon on Tuesday, a total of 138 NFL players had either been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list or had informed their respective team they were opting out of the 2020 season because of concerns about the virus.
The situation had been fluid, to say the least. Except when it came to the Cardinals.
Of the 87 players who had either tested positive for COVID-19 or had possibly been exposed to it, none of them played for Arizona. Meanwhile, 51 players from 24 different clubs had decided to opt out this year. The deadline for players to do so is Thursday at 1 p.m. (Arizona time) and when Kingsbury met the media, not a single Cardinals player has decided to go that route.
Kingsbury said he hadn’t had conversations with any of his players about the latter, adding, “It’s obviously an area that we respect and understand that every person in this league has to do what’s best for themselves and their family and the league is very understanding of that and wants guys to do what they need to do in their own personal lives.”
“I have not had those discussions yet,” he continued, “but that’s something obviously we’re open to.”
Less than an hour later, news broke that Cardinals veteran offensive lineman Marcus Gilbert, whom Kingsbury had said would likely be the team’s starter at right tackle, had decided to opt out of the 2020 season.
Shortly after the report surfaced, Gilbert, 32, made it official by issuing the following statement on his Twitter account:
“After much thought and prayer, I have decided to opt out of the 2020 season. Although this decision was not easy for me, I felt it was the best decision due to my standing as a high-risk player with high-risk family members. I am grateful for the opportunities that have been afford to me over my years in the NFL and I am looking forward to returning stronger than ever for the 2021 NFL season. Furthermore, I’m sending out my thoughts and prayers for the safety and success of my teammates and all those playing across the league this year.”
Gilbert was scheduled to make $1.015 million this season. If it is determined he is, indeed, in the “high-risk” category, he will receive a $350,000 stipend, which is an advance on next year’s contract. If he doesn’t make the team in 2021, Gilbert would have to repay the $350,000 to the Cardinals.
Gilbert’s decision means rookie third-round draft pick Josh Jones now has a legitimate shot to crack the starting lineup at right tackle. His top competition will come from Justin Murray, who started 12 games at right tackle last season, and recent free-agent addition Kelvin Beachum.
But now what?
The Cardinals still haven’t had any players test positive for COVID-19, so are they lucky or could this just possibly be the calm before the storm? Are their health and safety protocols better than most? Are some players putting football ahead of their own safety concerns because they believe they could be headed for a special season?
“At this point, I believe it’s good fortune,” Kingsbury said, again, speaking before the news about Gilbert had surfaced. “We know we’re going to have positive cases at some point. It’s just when, not if. The opt out, that’s more of a case-by-case basis, person-by-person, family-by-family. That’s not unique, I don’t think, to any sort of expectation of our season.
“It’s just, guys have to do what they feel is in the best interest of their family and we respect that.”
According to final opt-out procedures agreed to between the league and the Players Association, players can still opt out after Thursday’s deadline if he receives a new medical diagnosis that he is in the “higher-risk” category. If a player has a family member die or become hospitalized due to COVID-19 after Thursday, that player will also be eligible to opt out.
On Monday, Cardinals star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was asked by
if has contemplated the idea of opting out.
“I play football for a living, but I’m also a family man for a living,” Hopkins said. “Hopefully, it doesn’t have to come to that, but I take it day by day. I think in the present moment, not the future. … Seeing guys opt out, I see a lot of guys getting criticism for it. I feel bad for those guys because obviously they’re losing a lot of the money, but to those people, they don’t want to risk what can happen and you can’t blame them.
“But for myself, I take it day by day and I really don’t look past that.”
The Cardinals, Kingsbury said, have been working out the past two days at their Tempe training center for the start of walk-through practices. Before, during and after, of course, the entire team is following multiple safety protocols, including wearing masks, getting sanitized and wearing GPS devices to help them social distance.
It may look and feel a lot different, but they’re finally getting back to football and it’s been exciting for everyone, according to Kingsbury.
“(Monday) and (Tuesday) were the first two days we were allowed to have the vets for some walk-through time and it was really good,” he said. “Obviously, Year 2 having all three phases back – when you’re talking about (special teams coordinator) Jeff Rodgers, (defensive coordinator) Vance (Joseph) and myself – much smoother this year with the understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish even though we lost a lot of time throughout the spring.
“But it was good. Guys have a good understanding of what we want to be. We’ve got a long ways to go before we can actually truly practice. We’ll get on the field at some point in the next week and start moving around, but the real practices won’t be for quite some time.”
For now, and moving forward every day, Kingsbury said the priority will be on everyone explicitly following all safety protocols. Getting the proper amount of mental and physical reps are important in this slow ramp up toward the start of the regular season. But the Cardinals won’t get there if they don’t take heed.
“I feel like the longer we go, the more it’s about doing your due diligence and doing what’s right as far as what we know, protocol-wise, and being where you should be and trying to avoid situations that you could put yourself at risk,” Kingsbury said. “We all have a great appreciation right now around this facility for being able to have a job and being able to be together and try to pull this thing off.
“But we also understand it can be taken quickly. I do feel our players understand what their actions will accomplish and what the wrong actions can tear down. I like where our mindset’s at. It’s going to take everybody for the entire six, seven months and I do feel like our team understands that.”