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The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the NFL to get to work during a public health crisis, uniquely dangerous among professional sports due to football’s high-impact nature. And while he understands that not everyone is happy with the situation, New Orleans Saints punter Thomas Morstead was glad to lend a hand during negotiations as the team’s NFL Players Association representative.
“Look, I’m personally thrilled with where we ended up,” Morstead said during a recent media conference call. “I know there are always going to be people that don’t agree with what the end result is. For players that want to opt out, they have that right. We’ve tried to provide the ability for someone to do that if they feel like that is the right decision for them and that family, but also at the same time, I think it is important that players don’t knock other players that decide they want to play, they want to take on the risk.”
So far, just two of Morstead’s Saints teammates have opted out of the 2020 season due to health concerns (backup tight ends Cole Wick and Jason Vander Laan). But with the NFL deadline to opt out rapidly approaching at 3 p.m. CT on Thursday, Aug. 6, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if more players decide it’s best to wait until 2021.
As for the changes to his daily grind: Morstead says he honestly hasn’t noticed much disruption to his routine, with most of the hassle put on those around him. And he’s careful to recognize the work others do to support him.
“I don’t know that there has been a tough adjustment (for me). I think the tough adjustment is in all the staff, it’s all of the trainers,” Morstead continued. “I think for us (players), it’s just wear the mask and socially distance yourself when you’re able to do that. I don’t sense my day has gotten more strenuous or tougher to do. I still can do everything I need to do. Be mindful of a few things, but it’s really, I’d say that the burden is on the staff and the people that are assisting us and so we’re really appreciative of that.”
When asked whether he’s confident the NFL can pull off the upcoming season as things currently stand, Morstead replied, “That’s above my paygrade. All I know is that we’ve done everything we can to provide as safe a working environment as possible. I don’t think anybody’s under the delusion that people aren’t going to get COVID. The idea with the testing is that we’re hopefully going to catch it before guys have a chance to spread it.”
That’s been the same line from Saints coach Sean Payton, who has stressed that the goal isn’t to prevent infections altogether — that’s inevitable in a contact sport where people are lined up, shoulder-to-shoulder and breathing on each other three or four hours. As Payton explained it, and to which Morstead agrees, all of their efforts are about mitigating risk as much as possible.
To help, the Saints bought out four floors of rooms at a French Quarter hotel, where they plan to house players, coaches, and other employees throughout training camp. Morstead plans to stay there as often as possible, but with a family of four school-aged children at home for his wife to contend with, he isn’t sure how often he can stay away from the house. Just like everyone else, he’s making the best that he can of a difficult situation.
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