Giants news: Defending player opt outs, more – Big Blue View

Good morning, New York Giants fans!

NFL backfield rankings: All 32 running back units entering the 2020 NFL season | NFL News, Rankings and Statistics | PFF

The Giants come in No. 10 overall.

As Giants’ Nate Solder opts out, try to stop worrying about NFL’s return — and remember his valuable lesson in what really matters | Opinion – nj.com

Of all the NFL players who opted out this week, it’s hard to imagine anybody with a more concerning situation than Solder’s.

But for as tough as this choice was, Solder is providing the sports world with a valuable lesson about what really matters, even as the NFL forges ahead with its non-bubble season.

For a moment, then, can we step back from the handwringing about training camp logistics and no fans in stadiums, and remember the human side of a pandemic that has now killed about 150,000 people in the United States alone?

Just forget, if you can, that you really want football to return so you’ll have something to watch on weekends this autumn. And recognize that players who are putting themselves out there — especially massive linemen, like Solder — are taking a significant risk, one that involves not just them, but their families.

Bill Polian: How Roster Building is Impacted in 2020 | New York Giants – YouTube

NFL insider notes: What players opting out now says, how Browns beat the market on Garrett contract and more – CBSSports.com

The fact that NFL players, by the handful, are opting out of the 2020 season should come as no surprise. Almost nothing should at this point. Okay, if Patrick Mahomes, fresh off signing his record contract, were to decide not to play, or 23-year old reigning MVP Lamar Jackson, that might come as a stunner. But if either were to have a pregnant girlfriend or loved one living with them or if either were to discover he harbored a medical condition that makes him more vulnerable to COVID-19, then any pretense of being slack-jawed should be dropped. Bottom line — every player has a medical, family and business decision to make when it comes to whether or not it makes sense for him to participate in this season.

It is, frankly, none of our business as to why anyone opts to take a small stipend (which will be paid back in 2021) rather than submit himself to all of the unknowns that will come with attempting to play professional football on a daily (practice) and then weekly (games) basis in 2020. Each man has his own mental calculus to conduct, weighing in risks of getting hurt, how much trust he has in the efficacy of testing, how realistic he believes it is to maintain operations with 150 or more people in a team headquarters, daily, at a time when large gatherings are strongly discouraged.

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