The 2020 NFL season is already very different from any other in memory.
The sports landscape has changed amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Everything from boot camps, practice sessions, games, and other facets of our favorite leagues are done differently to create a safe environment for everyone involved.
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Many players across professional soccer have also decided to opt out of the 2020 season due to coronavirus concerns. The Patriots have reportedly opted to exclude six players, most from any team. The absence of players who chose not to participate, in addition to the veterans the Patriots already lost earlier in the offseason through free agency and the commercial market, will result in a New England roster that looks very different from what we are used to seeing.
Former tight end Benjamin Watson, who played for the Patriots from 2004 to 2009 and then again in 2019 before retiring in March, recently gave his take on the situation facing the Pats and the rest of the league.
“One thing Patriots head coach Bill Belichick always talks about from my first year here in 2004 until my return this year is that there are always changes in the league,” Watson told SiriusXM NFL Radio. “I’m not sure if he realized there would be so much change. This change is always difficult for everyone, especially when you consider the fact that we didn’t have a lot of offseason and the training camp will be cut short. they have the most consistency and the least amount of rotation will have a particular advantage this year that they may not have had as much in the past. But if anyone can deal with the change, it’s the coaches at Foxboro because that’s something they always talk about. ” .
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The biggest changes to the Patriots roster are happening at the quarterback position. Tom Brady left to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency after winning six Super Bowl titles with the Patriots in the past 20 years, and his replacement will likely be Cam Newton or Jarrett Stidham.
Watson hopes to see what Newton will do in New England.
“Cam Newton, we’ll start there. I’m excited to see him play because this is a guy who was a previous MVP, a guy who is very talented, a guy who is now healthy and is a real game changer,” said Watson. That said, there is a whole new system that is there. This is a different look and a different team, that’s the name of the game in the NFL. Just with the Patriots, there has been a lot of consistency, especially in the quarterback position of field, which looks very, very strange now. “
The Patriots have many challenges ahead of them to enter the new season, but with a coach of Belichick’s caliber at the helm, you have to like the team’s chances of weathering the storm.
