The 49ers are one of 14 teams that haven’t had any players opt out of the 2020 season yet. While the deadline to sit out was in flux for awhile, ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday reported the date has been set for Thursday, Aug. 6.
It doesn’t sound like the club is anticipating any players changing their mind by that deadline.
“I have not had a conversation with any of our players,” general manager John Lynch said Monday in his season-opening press conference. “We’ve talked a lot. We always feel like communication with our players is the best opportunity for success in every situation, but none of our players have intimated that that is an option that they’re going to be exercising, I guess.”
Of course, given the ever-changing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, a player could easily change their mind before Thursday. Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Monday in his season-opening press conference said players who do opt in won’t be pressured to stay in the building at all times.
“You want everyone to know that there’s no right or wrong answers. It’s what you’re comfortable with,” Shanahan said. “I compared it to when someone dies, people deal with that totally different ways. Some people want to come to work the next day. Some people need to get away and grieve. It’s just- but that’s up to the individual. I kind of see that in this situation, too. I know John, (49ers CEO) Jed (York), everyone, I think we all feel the same. When we got back in here, I think that eased a lot. A lot of the guys who did have high concerns and guys I had a lot of concerns for, they felt a lot better once they talked to their doctors before they came. I mean, if the doctors recommend them not to come, they wouldn’t be here. The doctors have to recommend them first and then they give those risks. Then the guys, they know there’s not pressure. We’ll work through it and figure out what we can do based off how they feel.”
Shanahan has expressed confidence in the team’s safety protocols at multiple points during the offseason. The 49ers are at an advantage in that their team facility is directly adjacent to their stadium. That allows them, on top of other in-house changes to the building to improve safety, to use the stadium to hold larger meetings with proper social distancing.
Things will change quite a bit once workouts begin and they’re playing football — a full contact sport. But it sounds like they’ll have their full team with nobody expected to opt out before Thursday.