These are strange times, not just when it comes to real life, but for sports, as well.
In the past few years, we've seen a number of NFL players call it quits early on their careers because of concerns about concussions or their long-term health in general.
This season -- assuming we have one -- we could see a number of football players decide to opt out of playing. And not because they're worried about playing the most dangerous of professional sports. As Mike Tomlin often says, it's not a matter of if a player is going to be injured, it's a matter of when it will happen.
But this year there are even more special circumstances than any other. With players coming back under coronavirus protocols, there are a lot of things that still have to be hashed out among the NFLPA and the league.
The league was expected to have announced its plans for training camps, the preseason and other issues at this point. Even though some things have leaked out, nothing is set in stone.
One thing we haven't heard yet is this: What happens to those who decide to opt out and not play this season?
Players are permitted to opt out in other leagues. In Major League Baseball, if they have some kind of underlying medical issue, they can even still be paid. In the NHL, players have three more days to let the league know they're opting out, in which case they'll do so without penalty.
But in the NFL, where they average career is one-third of that of other professional athletes, sitting out a season could mean you never come back.
Don't think for a second that doesn't matter, especially for players who are on the bottom third of the roster.
The other issue is that NFL contracts are largely not guaranteed. Established players or former first-round picks might be able to afford to sit out. They've already collected a big signing bonus, either when they were drafted or when they signed their second contract.
But if you were selected outside of the first round or made a team as an undrafted rookie and haven't yet gotten your second contract, you probably can't afford to not play.
Heck, even Steelers NFLPA rep Cam Heyward is concerned about long-term health consequences. Heyward wants to play. But he also could afford not to do so, having already earned more than $50 million in his career.
"Having asthma and being a bigger guy, but I understand the risk. I’m going to take all of the precautions," Heyward said recently. "We’ll have to see in writing whether everybody else is taking the precautions, whether it be the staff or the bus drivers. It’s a lot of moving parts that have to go along with it. It can’t be something that’s rushed. I know the NFL and NFLPA have been working on this for a while. But there are so many things that have to be cleared before me and my family feel it’s acceptable for me to be playing."
But Heyward is one of the outliers. Realistically, there are about 15 or so players on every roster who can realistically choose to opt out. The rest? If they do so, their career could be over -- or at the very least, they might not be able to afford to sit out -- unless the league and NFLPA come up with some kind of fund to allow that to happen.
MORE STEELERS
• The NFLPA leadership voted last week to not play any preseason games at all in 2020. That's nice. But it's also meaningless. Per the CBA, the players agreed to play preseason games, so they're bound to do so if the league chooses. There were reports the NFL is considering trimming two preseason games -- the first and fourth -- from the schedule. And if that's what the league wants, that's what's going to happen, regardless of the NFLPA vote. The players, by the way, would vote to play no preseason games every year, pandemic or no. Players, especially the veteran players who comprise the NFLPA leadership, hate preseason games. -- Lolley
• NFL teams have until 4 p.m., Wed., July 15 to work out extensions with their franchise tagged players. If that doesn't happen by that time, they cannot talk about a new deal until after the season ends. For the Steelers, of course, that includes Bud Dupree, who has already signed his franchise tag tender. But the one everyone in the league will be keeping an eye on is in Dallas, where Dak Prescott will earn $31.4 million this year on the franchise tag. With Patrick Mahomes' record-setting deal signed last weekend for as much as $503 million 10 years, the die has been cast for Prescott. Prescott isn't going to ask for $500 million or an average of $50 million per season, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him want $45 million per season. And the Cowboys aren't going to want to go that high. What could happen is a Kirk Cousins' situation. Cousins was tagged two years in a row by the Redskins, earning just under $44 million in his final two seasons with the Redskins. The Redskins couldn't afford to tag Cousins a third time and he became a free agent, signing a fully guaranteed contract with the Vikings. So, we could see Prescott hit the free agent market after the 2021 season. That happens to be when a certain franchise quarterback's contract runs out with the Steelers. Would the Steelers be interested in a quarterback set to turn 28? They're on the books for more than $40 million for Ben Roethlisberger in 2021 and have paid him more than $225 million to this point in his career, so they've shown they're willing to pay big money for a quarterback if they think he can help them win a championship. -- Lolley
PENGUINS
• The NHL has spent a lot of time -- and will spend a lot of money -- trying to safeguard the health of players and team staffers when postseason play begins in Toronto and Edmonton next month. Every member of the participating clubs' travel parties will be compelled to operate within a well-defined "bubble" that effectively is off-limits to all others. There will be restaurants and entertainment options available inside the bubble, and even things like golf outings will take place in a carefully controlled environment. Every conceivable step to protect participants from exposure to coronavirus has been taken, it seems, with one glaring exception. Coaches, including Mike Sullivan and his staff, will not be compelled to wear masks on the bench. Sure, they -- like the players -- are supposed to be tested daily, but it's not out of the question that a coach could contract the virus between the time he is tested and the next game, and because a lot of coaches can get excited and animated -- and, thus, yell a lot -- during games, there should be no shortage of droplets in the air around the benches. Communicating at, uh, high volume is standard procedure for a lot of coaches and a habit few, if any, are likely to break, even though they won't have to worry about making themselves heard over crowd noise (no fans, remember?) Fact is, coaches in the qualifying round and Stanley Cup playoffs that follow should be more concerned about having their instructions to players overheard on the other team's bench than they are about those players not being aware of what they're being told. A mask wouldn't render a coach's words inaudible, but it might inhibit transmission of a virus. Or anything else that might get expelled along with the coach's instructions. -- Dave Molinari
• As detailed in a story on our site recently, a fight with Philadelphia tough guy Craig Berube was a significant part of Phil Bourque's most memorable game as a member of the Penguins. And as Bourque noted, that hardly was the only time they traded punches, including once during an American Hockey League exhibition game between the Baltimore Skipjacks, who were the Penguins' farm team, and the Hershey Bears, then the Flyers' top minor-league affiliate. "(Those teams) always had this incredible hatred, because we always played Hershey, like Wilkes-Barre does now," Bourque said. "We played them eight times, 10 times (per season). It was always an absolute bloodbath, those games." It's understandable that Bourque emerged from those games with a few bruises and some hard feelings toward the guys with whom he battled (literally), but his relationship with Berube changed dramatically when their paths crossed during the Calder Cup playoffs about 15 years ago, while Bourque was doing color commentary on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton games and happened to stay at the same hotel as the Bears, who Berube was coaching then. "We just started chatting," he said. "It was like we had known each other for years. He's just a great guy, easy to talk to, and we obviously had a mutual respect. (After that), he always took the time to come over and shake my hand and take five minutes to catch up. You would think he was just a miserable SOB who didn't like anybody who didn't wear the same colors he did, but it was the opposite. He's actually a really good guy." -- Molinari
• The NHL has adopted a policy of not identifying players who test positive for coronavirus, and that's as it should be. For now. There is, after all, no reason for anyone else to know about such a diagnosis, unless they were near the player in question, in which case contact tracing would come into play. Sticking to that policy through the training camps scheduled to open Monday makes perfect sense -- there's no reason to name players if it serves no purpose except to satisfy the curiosity of outsiders -- but it might be worth revisiting after teams move to the "hub" cities, if only to preserve the reputation of players who get a positive test. Think about it: If a fairly prominent player is scratched from such an important game without explanation, speculation about the reason for his absence will begin immediately. Is he sitting out for violating team rules? Did he get arrested? Did he fall down steps while intoxicated and break an ankle? It seems as if it would be better for all concerned -- assuming the player in question agrees to it, of course -- if his team simply would announce that he is not playing because of a positive test result. There shouldn't be a stigma attached to that, and even if there is, it probably wouldn't be nearly as nasty as some of the rumors that would circulate if the absence isn't explained. -- Molinari
PIRATES
• Trevor Williams talked about using his curveball more this week after working with Oscar Marin in person throughout the shutdown, which helped him start spinning it more consistently. He threw it only 21 times last year, and they weren't evenly distributed. Seven of those 21 curves came in his final start of the year against the Reds, and that turned out to be a solid outing, seven innings and allowing two runs. The curve was part of the reason for his success, getting a ground out and a double-play with it. It's far too small of a sample size to take too seriously, but after a down year, Williams could use a new option to help him get batters out. -- Alex Stumpf at PNC Park
• Marin has been praised for his ability to communicate analytical and biomechanical ideas to a pitching staff that had fallen behind the times under the previous regime. Part of the reason why he is reaching this group of pitchers is not just because he is very knowledgeable, but he's also closer to the staff's age. "I think having Oscar here is going to be one of those things that — especially with the younger staff where you have a younger pitching coach (and) you guys are a little more relatable — I just feel more of a comfort level being able to go up to him after a bullpen and just talk to him, ask what he saw, what we can do," Nick Burdi said. Marin is 37, just four years older than the Pirates' most senior pitcher, 33-year-old Derek Holland. Derek Shelton has talked at length about the importance of building relationships, and Marin was in contact with his pitchers throughout the shutdown, partly to do just that. Being closer to the age of a younger, more impressionable pitching staff seems to be appreciated, too. -- Stumpf
• Jose Osuna was arguably baseball's best pinch-hitter last year, homering five times off the bench -- the most in baseball -- and recording a 1.310 OPS over 30 plate appearances. Entering last year, though, he really struggled as a pinch-hitter, recording a .147 batting average with only two home runs in 77 plate appearances. Part of the reason why he did better is he changed his preparation routine, taking reps against live pitching rather than a machine ahead of his appearances off the bench. "When the game was going, I would use [former assistant hitting coach] Jacob Cruz to throw to me to get myself ready for that situation," Osuna said. With the Pirates using a designated hitter this year, Osuna should see more regular playing time, both as a DH or a defensive replacement for players such as Josh Bell and Colin Moran when they DH, and without pitchers hitting, there will be fewer opportunities to pinch-hit. This skill will be more useful in 2021, when pitchers go back to hitting. -- Stumpf
PITT
• The NCAA Division I Council in late June extended the recruiting dead period for all sports through Aug. 31, which means, per the institution's definition, "a college coach may not have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents, and may not watch student-athletes compete or visit their high schools. Coaches may write and telephone student-athletes or their parents during a dead period." Many recruits are committing to schools without making a visit. When the dead period finally ends, it could lead to high schoolers looking elsewhere to commit. It's also putting football coaches in a difficult spot. Recently, I spoke with a potential recruit who said Pitt coaches are hoping to get prospects on campus and to a game at Heinz Field, but that depends on if fans will be allowed to attend games, assuming they are played. For now, Pitt's coaching staff understandably is recruiting as if the season will be played as scheduled but are working on ways to keep a large recruiting class together if the season is delayed. -- Mike Kovak on the North Shore
• Maybe the biggest addition to the Pitt baseball team for the 2021 season is Matt Tarabek, a Hempfield Area High School graduate who helped Fordham win the Atlantic 10 championship in 2019. Tarabek, like all other senior baseball players in 2020, was granted a fifth year of eligibility by the NCAA and joins Pitt after batting .360 with 14 RBIs through 16 games in what was supposed to be his fourth and final season at Fordham. Of course, the coronavirus shutdown put a halt to the 2020 college baseball season, but it landed the Panthers a prized asset. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound infielder is considered a potential MLB Draft pick. "Matt Tarabeck is the cream of the crop," said Connor Perry, a former Pitt baseball player and member of the Detroit Tigers minor league organization. -- Kovak