Report: Former Jaguars WR Marqise Lee to Opt Out of 2020 Season
One of the latest NFL players to opt out of the 2020 season due to uncertainty surrounding the season and COVID-19 is a former Jacksonville Jaguars second-round pick.
Jim McBride of the Boston Globe reported Saturday that New England Patriots wide receiver Marqise Lee, who signed with New England this offseason after six seasons in Jacksonville, had decided not to play this season.
"This is a big sit-down process I had, with me and my significant other, as far as family goes. The risk factor in which we believe that's going out there, it just wasn't worth it in a sense. Just too many unknowns," Lee told Mike Reiss of ESPN.
"We knew New England, honestly, had a great system in place. But I told Coach [Bill Belichick], at the end of the day, I wouldn't be doing him justice going out there because I wouldn't be able to give him my all knowing my family was back at the house worrying about their situation."
Lee had his first daughter earlier this year, so it is not hard to understand why the father of a newborn would prefer to be home with his family and come back to play in 2021.
Lee was originally drafted by the Jaguars with the No. 39 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, the Jaguars' first pick following the addition of quarterback Blake Bortles. The Jaguars released the veteran wide receiver in April in a cap-saving move after injuries had derailed his last two seasons after he signed a four-year, $34 million contract with $16.5 million guaranteed in the 2018 offseason
In the preseason of 2018, Lee sustained an ACL injury that would end his season before it ever began. In 2019, Lee suffered a shoulder injury which would later require surgery and would sideline him for the rest of the season. Since signing his contract in 2018, Lee played in only six games for the Jaguars, catching three passes for 18 yards in the last two years combined.
In 59 career games with the Jaguars, Lee caught 175 receptions for 2,184 yards and eight touchdowns. His most productive season was in 2016, when he caught 63 passes for 851 yards and three touchdowns.
