Like most everyone, the McCourty twins are trying to figure out what a return to work for players and the opening of the 2020 NFL season might look like in the coming months.
In the wake of recent positive COVID-19 cases, New England Patriots Devin and Jason McCourty discussed possible anxiety about plans to return for training camp next month, with the league planning for the season to start on time in September.
"I think everybody's nervous, because the norm is that we just go to work -- we put in a lot of work, we bond together, we lift, we're in close quarters. It feels like that's all being taken away from us, so I don't know how to react. I don't know what's it's going to be," Devin McCourty said Sunday night on the "Double Coverage" podcast, via ESPN's Mike Reiss. "I love how a lot of players' attention has been on what's going on outside of football, and I think we'll continue to do that. But figuring out football, to me, seems to be the hardest thing right now. We hope, but I don't know if we'll figure it out, honestly."
Jason McCourty noted the difficulty of getting players together, especially as the NFLPA recently recommended players stop private group workouts.
"When you think about the future, if it's hard for 10 guys just to get together to do little passing drills or anything of that nature, to think about somewhere between 53 and 90 guys in a training camp, it's going to be insane. So I don't know how that's going to turn out," he said.
The NFL continues to develop guidelines for players returning to club buildings, which includes a tiered system of access, personal protective equipment, and other compliance areas. The league is still determining the best protocols for testing and other aspects to help players stay as safe as possible.
At this point, Jason McCourty noted that Patriots players, like the rest of the league, are waiting out the situation.
"[Similar] to every other team in the league, is figuring out how to get into the building. I know that's kind of the cliché answer right now, but everything that's gone on with COVID, I think it's hard at this point to even think about the individual team obstacles that you're going to have go through because there's so much going on out of our control right now," Jason said.
