The New England Patriots have now lost five players for the 2020 season as they have all opted out. Star linebacker Dont’a Hightower, starting OL Marcus Cannon, FB Danny Vitale, RB/ST Brandon Bolden and OL Najee Toran will sit-out.
#NFL Opt-Outs
BAL, D. Thomas, WR, $910k
DAL, M. Canady, CB, $1.05M
KC, L. Duvernay-Tardif, OL, $3.5M
NE, D. Hightower, ILB, $8.8M
NE, M. Cannon, OT, $6.2M
NE, B. Bolden, RB, $1.2M
NE, D. Vitale, FB, $1.2M
NE, N. Toran, OL, $675k
SEA, C. Warmack, G, $1M
WAS, C. Brantley, DT, $750k— Spotrac (@spotrac) July 28, 2020
Toran spent most of last year on the practice squad while Hightower, Bolden and Cannon have won a combined eight Super Bowls. This is a huge loss for a Pats team that is still expected to contend for the AFC East crown. Hightower leaves a significant loss in the linebacking room as the team already lost Jamie Collins, Elandon Roberts and Kyle Van Noy in free agency.
If a player, like Cannon, who is a cancer survivor, falls into the “high-risk” category, he gets $350,000 and a year of service. If a player who is not high-risk opts-out, they get $150,000 and no year of service.
We’ll have more on ‘The Huddle’ from 3-6 PM.
