NFL Exec Believes Bill Belichick Is ‘Masterminding’ Patriots Opt-Outs

The New England Patriots suddenly have six holes to fill on their roster after six players — including Dont’a Hightower and Patrick Chung — opted out of the 2020 season due to concerns about COVID-19. Seriousness of the subject matter aside, that has to be good news for other teams, right?

Well, apparently not.

In a text exchange with ESPN’s Adam Schefter, an anonymous NFL executive communicated apparent concern that Bill Belichick is “masterminding” his team’s opt-out situation. No, we’re not kidding.

Check out this tweet:

So, what could Belichick gain from persuading at least six players to sit out the 2020 season? Your guess is as good as ours. Sure, the moves freed up salary cap space — Jadeveon Clowney, anyone? — but one would assume Belichick rather would have players like Hightower and Chung in the fold.

There really is nothing in sports quite like Patriots paranoia.

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About the Author

Dakota Randall

Plymouth State/Boston University product from Wolfeboro, NH, who now is based in Rhode Island. Have worked at NESN since 2016, covering the Patriots since 2021. Might chat your ear off about Disney World, Halo 2, and Lord of the Rings.