Packers players have until Thursday to opt out of 2020 season

Packers players have until Thursday to decide whether to opt out of the 2020 season.

Green Bay Packers players, as well as players for all other 31 teams in the NFL, have the choice to opt out of the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A deadline has now been set for when players can officially opt out of the season. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the deadline is on Thursday at 3 p.m. CT.

Once a player opts out, that’s it. They can’t change the decision and will sit out of the entire 2020 season.

So far, wide receiver Devin Funchess is the only Packers player to opt out of the season.

According to NFL.com, players who voluntarily opt out are eligible to get paid $150,000 this year, an advance on their salary, and the contract then rolls over into next season. Players in the higher-risk category who opt out can be paid $350,000.

By Thursday afternoon, the Packers will know which players have voluntarily opted out of the 2020 season, but the other issue is players being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Players placed on this list have either come into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, or they have tested positive for the virus themselves.

The Packers currently have a number of players on the reserve/COVID-19 list including kicker Mason Crosby, second-year tight end Jace Sternberger, and defensive lineman Treyvon Hester.

According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, for at least the first couple of weeks of training camp, there will be daily COVID-19 testing, which could change to tests once every other day if the positive test rate is low enough.

A lot of changes have been made for training camp this year due to the pandemic. Packers players now have a couple more days to decide whether they want to play this season.