Steelers one of 5 NFL teams with no opt outs, but coach Mike Tomlin not overly confident of full season
Count Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin among those doubting the NFL season will finish during a pandemic.
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The 2020 NFL preseason schedule was set to kick off Thursday night with the annual Hall of Fame Game from Canton, Ohio, this year featuring the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Of course, the entire NFL preseason slate was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said on Thursday morning that he's not overly confident about the regular season finishing, either.
While the NBA and NHL have succeeded in their restarts with players in bubble cities and zero positive COVID-19 tests in weeks, Major League Baseball and the NFL are without bubbles. Tomlin pointed to MLB's outbreaks as reason for his doubts.
"I don't know that I'm extremely confident," he said. "(But) I think we're all proceeding with caution and working extremely hard not to become part of that."
The NFL's deadline for players to opt out of this season without special consideration is today at 4 p.m. ET, and as of this writing the Steelers are one of five teams yet to have a player choose that option. The others are Tampa Bay (update: the Bucs have since had offensive lineman Brad Seaton, who likely would not have made the roster, do so), LA Chargers, Atlanta and the LA Rams. By comparison, the New England Patriots have had a league-high eight opt out. No big-name players opted out Thursday by the deadline.
"I don't have any knowledge of anybody on our team who has any strong considerations in that way," Tomlin said Thursday morning in a conference call with reporters.
Pittsburgh does currently have running back Jaylen Samuels, wide receiver James Washington and cornerback Justin Layne on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Linebacker Vince Williams said this week no players on the team have because of a faith in one of the most well-run organizations in the league: "I think that the Steelers did a great job of providing us — I know, personally — the Steelers have provided us with a safe environment."
Tomlin could be in a bit of trouble should Pittsburgh miss the playoffs a third year in a row. The Steelers are -120 on the William Hill moneyline odds to make the postseason and +105 to miss.
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