A second player plans to opt out of the 2020 season. Following former Chiefs teammate Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Ravens wide receiver/return man De’Anthony Thomas has expressed his intention to opt out, the team announced.
This will be a voluntary opt-out for Thomas, who re-signed with the Ravens in March. This would have been the wideout’s seventh NFL season.
Because this is a voluntary opt-out, and not a high-risk player choosing to bypass the COVID-19-clouded season, Thomas is set to receive a $150K stipend. He will not receive an accrued season toward free agency. His new deal was a one-year pact for the league minimum.
Players have only a handful of days to determine whether they will play in 2020, with August 3 serving as the deadline. Thomas operated as Baltimore’s primary punt returner last season, averaging 7.2 yards per return for his second NFL team. The Ravens, however, believe sixth-round rookie James Proche can fill Thomas’ shoes, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic notes (via Twitter).
Thomas, 27, spent five full seasons with the Chiefs. He worked as Kansas City’s primary kick returner for much of his stay, while also playing an auxiliary role as a wide receiver in K.C.’s Alex Smith-piloted offenses. Though, Thomas has never posted a 200-yard season and last caught double-digit passes in 2017. The eventual Super Bowl champions cut him last year, leading him to Baltimore. The former Oregon standout’s contract will toll to 2021.
Must be nice to be able to say “I’m not gonna do my job this year” and get paid $150,000. I’m an “essential” (all jobs are essential) worker and that’s more than twice what I’ll make this year.
Thanks for your hard work…unfortunately you probably don’t have a union as strong as his!
He probably wont have a job when he tries to come back. Needs to file for unemployment
I agree, I think this will be a poor decision he regrets down the line, but if I didn’t have to go work and could collect 150k…yeah no chance I’m goin to work, I go to work and make less due to some poor decisions I’ve come to regret down the line
If you are looking for fairness in wage comparisons with professional athletes, you should look somewhere else. Unfortunately for most of us, we do not work in a multi billion dollar industry that only employs the elite of elite in skilled professionals.
I guess you should have become a football player, then…
The real and original Black Mamba, De’Anthony Thomas