With more New England Patriots opting out of the 2020 NFL season, it seems like football fans have never been more convinced that the team is tanking for Clemson’s junior quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
As of Tuesday morning, five Patriots are reportedly opting out of the season — linebacker Dont’a Hightower, running back Brandon Bolden, offensive tackle Marcus Cannon, fullback Danny Vitale and guard Najee Toran — presumably because of concerns about health risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic. (For The Win is keeping a running list of NFL players who have decided to skip this season.)
Opting out of the season because of the coronavirus outbreak is, obviously, a perfectly acceptable excuse, particularly when there’s a chance players’ health could be jeopardized by a virus that’s already killed almost 150,000 people in the U.S.
And football players were likely reminded of the risks Monday when MLB news broke that 14 Miami Marlins players or staff members tested positive for COVID-19.
But some NFL fans seem convinced that with so many Patriots opting out, the team is officially focused on the 2021 NFL Draft and trying to tank for Lawrence, the 6-foot-6, 220-pound star quarterback who, in 2019, had a 65.8 completion percentage and threw for 3,665 yards and 36 touchdowns.
Now, as Patriots fans drool over the idea of getting the No. 1 overall draft pick and taking Lawrence, everyone else doesn’t seem too pleased. Plus, it’s a bit of an insult to Cam Newton, who New England signed to a one-year contract back in June.
But all around, plenty of NFL fans had jokes and Bill Belichick-led conspiracy theories.
