Jaguars' Rashaan Melvin To Opt Out of 2020 Season
Jacksonville Jaguars veteran corner Rashaan Melvin has informed the team he will voluntarily be opting out of the 2020 NFL season, presumably due to concerns surrounding COVID-19. Players have until 4 p.m. ET today (Thursday, August 6) to let clubs know if they will be opting out this fall.
Melvin came to the Jaguars this offseason from the Detroit Lions. He has spent seven years in the NFL thus far, playing in 64 games and starting 40. His career stats over that time include 237 tackles, 41 passes defended, four interceptions and three forced fumbles.
Melvin becomes the third Jaguar to withdraw from the upcoming season, joining defensive tackle Al Woods and defensive end Lerentee McCray. The Jaguars focused much of their 2020 NFL Draft capital on building defensive depth. Three of the first four picks were for athletes who can play the position of the three Jags who so far have opted out (corner CJ Henderson, OLB/DE K'Lavon Chaisson and defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton).
With the deadline fast approaching, there could be a flurry of players alerting teams to their decision. One Jaguar who will certainly be playing though is defensive end Josh Allen. He told reporters on Wednesday that while he'd considered possibly sitting out, his wife convinced him it was right to play.
"I'd be lying to you if I said I didn't," Allen said Wednesday when asked if he had any considerations in the past about opting out. "It's always—family is first, man. I don't want to put my family in jeopardy of any harm that I [could] bring to them, so that was always something that I kept close to me.
"But Kait, my wife, she really encouraged me, you know, to keep playing football this year because she knows what I am striving for in my career. And she is real helpful and she is doing her best to keep the kids inside the house and keep them busy until I get home, and then I got to take over."
If players do elect to opt out, they receive $150,00 for the season. High risk players (players with a diagnosis of one of the conditions listed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) who do so for personal medical reasons will receive $350,00.
That amount is essentially considered a loan on the 2021 contract and according to Baltimore Ravens quarterback Robert Griffin III, if players don't make the 2021 roster, they will have to pay back that amount. The 2020 season will not accrue for those opting out that aren't high-risk, meaning they will not gain a year of experience towards their salary.
Earlier in the week head coach Doug Marrone told reporters that when he finally had all of his players back together in the facility for meetings, the first thing he discussed with them was their right to opt out out of the season due to the pandemic.
"My message to the team was that, the first thing that I wanted to say that I discussed the opt-out situation that we understand obviously there is risk. Everyone has to make that decision, and I can’t speak for anyone but I will respect that decision, and we as an organization respect that decision whatever you do decide. But it has to be something that comes from an individual, so I wanted to make sure that I conveyed that to the players."
