DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Browns players opt out of season

The Cleveland Browns have placed G Drew Forbes and T Drake Dorbeck on the reserve/opt-out list*. In addition, the club placed TE Pharaoh Brown on active/PUP.

Forbes joined the Browns as a sixth-round pick in 2019 and appeared in one game last season. Dorbeck is an undrafted free agent out of Southern Mississippi.

Good on them for making the call. They are both on the roster bubble, so not too much of a surprise.

Fingers crossed we don't have any cornerstone players opt out.

Not knowing their circumstances, it is better to be safe than sorry. As fans we want this season to be full go, no glitches Just gives us kick butt football. However, others have some circumstances that we must respect. These are young men that I am sure want to be playing, it is too bad they feel they can’t.

It's only Wednesday. Players have until sometime on Monday to make the call. Probably 4PM eastern time.

I have a feeling a tidal wave is on the horizon, league wide. If we see a starting QB opt out, you might see 75% of that team toss it in.

Aaron Rodgers is one I am watching. He isn't happy with GB. I could see him opt out in the next few days.

This will probably wind up costing Forbes a shot at the NFL. Same with the other kid.

Forbes had no opportunity last year because of injury, and almost certainly would have received a solid shot at the RG position this year. 2 years on the sidelines, like it or not, and he's probably done.

Never heard of the other kid, and we will probably never hear of him again after this news blurb. Just the facts of life. The NFL is a :what have you done for me lately" business, and if you have never done anything ..... it's hard to stay anywhere near on the mind of the team's powers that be.

I wonder if anyone is going to go the "restructure my contract / give me a new contract / trade me or I will opt out" angle.

If they opt out, they don't gain a year on their contract. It just picks up next year. Depending on what they make and where they are, they will get a stipend this year. I have seen $150,000 and $350,000, which they have to pay back out of next years salary.

A guy like Forbes may not have any guaranteed money left on his contract and it's not a sure thing he makes the team.. I am not sure how that would be handled. Probably get nothing to opt out.

Teams are going to have to have a way to easily get their $150,000 back. NFL teams make a lot of money, but $150,000 is a lot of money. You don't just throw that away, I don't care how much money you have.

The Mob has a lot of money. See what happens if you try to stiff them for $150 large.

$150K and no service time if you opt out. $350K and service time if you are medically able to opt out.

"Marlins' 2020 season is paused by MLB after COVID-19 outbreak among players, coaches"

They have been playing a little over a week and this is the result. I hope the entire NFL opts out. It is not safe and it is not possible to MAKE it safe for players to do the things they must to play. Travel, hotels, restaurants, meetings, practice etc. etc. etc. A player will be in constant exposure. Even if you sequestered every single player and coach in the league for the entire season(and that is not possible), traveling from city to city would expose the players to possible carriers. All it takes is one.

This is a deadly virus. 150,000 Americans have died and that number just keeps going up up up. On top of that it hits the lungs, often times scarring them. If a player gets Covid and survives he may well never play again because of the long term damage done to his lungs or heart or whatever. Surviving doesn't mean you won't suffer long term effects.

If Baker got Covid and couldn't play for the next couple of years would it have been worth trying to play this season? The only reason they are willing to risk these players lives and health is MONEY. Money is more important than the lives and health of the players and coaches. There are a lot of older coaches in the NFL. How many will get sick? How many won't survive?

In fairness, the players want their money too. It's not like it is all on the NFL and owners.

The players aren’t allowed to go to restaurants. The travel will only be the team (who are tested regularly) and the flight/bus crew.

If players and coaches follow protocol it could work. Players and coaches aren’t going to follow protocol.

Yep. One of the McCourty twins was talking about all the players posting videos from nightclubs. Think about how dumb those players are. On at least two levels.

First, going to a nightclub. And then, posting videos/pics about it. LMAO man. Insane.

Of course they aren't. At least some of them, and all it takes is a few. Now you will have other players trapped in a room with some infected player, trapped on a jet with a few infected players for several hours.

exactly, the bubble idea backfires if you have a few ppl go rogue

Drew Forbes Decision a Difficult One, The Fallout For the Browns

https://www.si.com/nfl/browns/browns-maven-features/drew-forbes-difficult-decision

Cleveland Browns guard Drew Forbes made the difficult decision to opt out of the 2020 season over concerns with COVID-19. Working for months to be the in best shape of his life to compete for a starting guard position, dealing with the guilt of what a decision to opt out means for his teammates and his own desire to play. The financial implications are also significant for Forbes.

Forbes was scheduled to earn over $600,000 this season in base salary. That's gone. He doesn't get any of it. The money he gets, $150,000 is a cash advance, borrowing against his expected earnings in 2021. This is a huge risk for Forbes and players in general.

Teams now have to find replacements and they may find players that they feel good about it and effectively move on, keeping them in 2021. If that were to happen and a player like Forbes were to end up without a team, they now have to pay back that advance.

None of this is a vacation or a hand out. It's a difficult decision in a career that often has a short lifespan, which could drastically reduce their career earnings.

The Browns like Forbes. They will likely welcome him back with open arms next year. However, Forbes was going to be in a position to compete for the starting right guard job against Wyatt Teller in training camp this year. With Forbes now out, Teller seemingly becomes the starter by default. He's going to get far more reps this year and could benefit by improving and becoming a fixture on the line.

Forbes might miss out on his opportunity to take a starting job by opting out this year. That doesn't mean he won't ever get one, but he is putting himself behind for the sake of his safety and that of his family. Forbes has been working toward this opportunity, this dream for most of his life. Deferring it is likely one of the most difficult decisions he's ever had to make in his life.

The Browns starting offensive line for 2020 now appears set with Jedrick Wills and Jack Conklin at the tackle spots, J.C. Tretter at center with Joel Bitonio and now Teller at the guard spots. In a limited amount of practices, it could prove to be advantageous for the Browns to have their line set, allowing them to get as many reps as possible together to form them into a high functioning unit.

The Browns suffer a big drop off when it comes to the depth on the interior of the offensive line. Whoever lost the job for the starting job between Teller and Forbes, they were assured they'd have a good option in case of injury. Now, that security is gone and they have to find someone who can step into that role of reliable depth.

Colby Gossett and Malcolm Pridgeon are the next men up on the roster currently at guard. Evan Brown, Willie Wright and rookie Nick Harris are all listed as centers, but they all have played guard to varying degrees. Harris, undersized for a guard, has the most experience, having played guard at Washington for a few seasons before moving to center. Brown has the most experience at guard in the NFL.

The Browns are likely going to be looking at options coming from other teams, whether it's from teams cutting down to 80 or when teams cut down to 53. Nevertheless, the Browns have excellent depth at tackle, addressed their backup center spot, but now find themselves potentially needing to go find an answer to ensure the guard position.

j/c

I think Hubbard also challenges for the RG spot...and I've read enough about Gossett to think the Browns like the guy a lot.

I think these - so far- have been "extended & safe" practice squad/IR type moves. Stash the prospects until next year.

And that's probably the biggest issue with the NFL. The roster alone is a large amount of people. With the size of the coaching staff, medical staff, and supporting staff, you're talking more people per team than any other professional sport by a large margin. That in and of itself will make this thing next to impossible to control.

That would be for Baker and Baker alone to decide if it was worth it.

I'm watching Patrick Mahomes. If he opts out then the season will be in doubt.

Maybe him. It could be any number of players.

i was just saying last night: what if Drew Brees or Mahomes or Lamar Jackson, etc decides to sit out. Wonder if the NFL would be as “fine” with it as they are now

I understand what you are saying. If one of those guys decides to sit, we might see a whole bunch sit.

The original post comes up blank. The Thread title doesn't specify who, or some, or all of the players.
There is no information on a story that is unloadable because of format, so therefore useless.

I don't care about Aron Rogers, never liked watching him play anyway, he should have opted out every year,
Just feels like the espn-ers and all of that have always fed me the message that this guy is fun to watch, and makes the whole league better.
He's not.

I don't care about him either. You missed the point. The point is if high profile players start to opt out, I think we will see lots of players opt out.

The deadline was sometime tomorrow, but I just read somewhere the NFL may push that back to Tuesday or Wednesday to allow players the chance to see what is happening in their training camps.

Know what I mean?

If Tom Brady opts out nobody will give it a second thought. I mean everbody knows those over 80 are the most at risk

j/c...

He is right. This is a disaster waiting to happen. Players will catch Covid. How many is unknown but at least some will. At least 59 players including Zeke Elliot and Von Miller already have or had it... and that was during lock-down before camp started. How many have it now and don't know it? Won't know it for up to 14 days...

They are testing them all the time.

Eight. The answer is eight.

Don't like to hear that, but I get it.

I was looking towards him to shore up the interior defense.

J/C. This really sucks, I believe he would have really pushed to be a starter. Sad situation that men in their prime lose out on a season. I can’t remember if he signed a 1 year deal or not and will it count. Do we still have control after this season. I think within a month there are gonna be some Jaw Dropping opt outs on all teams. Stay Tuned.

All that could change, but tomorrow it the limit at this point.


As I understand it, we keep his contract another year. To think we play this year is folly.

Just shut it down. Hope for a 2021 season.

Not sure where you guys are getting your information, but it is highly unlikely they "just shut it down." While things are bad, it would take a huge escalation to shut it down.

This isn't about a "game." It's about money. And lots of it. I heard something the other day about how the local economy in Tuscaloosa would lose over $2 million if the Tide doesn't play this season. This isn't just about money for the owners and players. It's also about the local economies and much more.