Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Marquise Goodwin joins a chorus of NFL players who choose to exit the 2020 season before the August 3 league deadline. NFL informant Ian Rapoport has the scoop:
Source: #Eagles speedy WR Marquise Goodwin plans to opt out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns. He has informed the team, which traded him for the draft. Goodwin has a 5-month-old daughter after his wife had three miscarriages. Family is the most important.
– Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 28, 2020
ESPN previously featured Goodwin’s story in a Father’s Day special. It is understandable why you want to be cautious.
Here’s what we wrote about Goodwin in our training camp preview series:
The Eagles acquired Goodwin for the low cost of dropping 20 spots at the end of the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Eagles and Goodwin reportedly also agreed to a $ 1.35 million one-year contract restructuring in 2020.
Clearly, expectations for Goodwin must be kept low. Ultimately, he’s a guy who averaged 31 yards per game over seven seasons. And injuries have caused this 29-year-old to lose 15 games in the past two years.
Goodwin is a few years away from recording 56 receptions for 962 yards in 2017. It is not even an exaggeration to say that the former Olympian is one of the fastest people in the world considering his speed of 4.27 seconds in 40 yards.
Goodwin might be worth keeping it safe for Jackson to get hurt and / or Reagor not ready to make an immediate impact. The coaching staff could feel especially comfortable leaning on their veteran experience due to the irregular offseason.
Goodwin’s contract will now run until 2021. Meaning: He won’t be just a free agent after this season.
You can’t say losing Goodwin is crippling, it wasn’t even a lock to make the 53-man roster, but obviously it would have been preferable to have him around for camp. The Eagles now trust DeSean Jackson, who will turn 34 this year, and three rookie catchers to give them a good production of deep threats. In that regard, Goodwin’s decision is good news for Day 3 recruits John Hightower and Quez Watkins, who are now even more likely to join the team. The path to playing time of first-round pick Jalen Reagor is also less obstructed.
It will be determined if more Eagles players will join Goodwin to choose not to participate. The list is currently at 81 ahead of the Eagles who need to drop to 80 before fully presenting themselves for camp.
