Marcus Cannon opted out. It was the right decision, albeit a difficult one. However, that seemed to be the theme across the world in 2020: making difficult decisions and having to miss out.
The Houston Texans traded for the New England Patriots’ right tackle and had every intention to plug him at that position, even though the incumbent wasn’t too shabby in former 2019 first-round pick, Tytus Howard.
When Cannon got out on the field at NRG Stadium against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 12, the 33-year-old from Odessa, Texas, didn’t realize how much he missed playing in the NFL.
“When we first got out there, I could feel my feelings kind of raising up, because man, I really missed this game,” said Cannon. “I really missed it.”
Cannon did make use of his off year in 2020 by spending more time with family, especially his homeschooled kids.
“We got to do little P.E. workouts before and hang out with them, go fishing in our pond, just do stuff that I usually wouldn’t get to do in that year,” Cannon said. “But I’d be lying if I had said I didn’t miss it.”
At the time, Cannon was still under contract with the Patriots, who went 7-9 on the season.
Said Cannon: “It’s hard to watch games sometimes just seeing everybody out there, my friends and everybody just having a good time, flying around.”
The 6-6, 335-pound tackle says he thanks God for the chance to be back, and he gets another shot to play the game he loves when the Texans take on the Cleveland Browns Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Central Time at FirstEnergy Stadium.
“I thank God every day that I’m back and I’m here this year to play, and I’m thankful and I’m going to make the best out of it,” Cannon said.
