Last year saw the global COVID-19 pandemic impact the NFL in many ways. One was the ability for players who had health or family concerns to opt out of playing without any penalty.
A full 66 players around the league opted out. That includes three Detroit Lions players: WR Geronimo Allison, DT John Atkins and OL Russell Bodine. Their contracts paused for a year while they sat out with permission.
While Atkins and Bodine are no longer in Detroit, Allison returns for his first season with the Lions. And like the other 65 players who opted out, Allison will indeed suit up for the 2021 season. No players file the required paperwork with the NFL to opt out of the coming season by the deadline, which was last Friday.
The vaccination rate among players and staffers around the league, as well as downgraded regulations and restrictions from local authorities around the country, have led all the players to feel secure enough about the COVID-19 risk to play in 2021.
