:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67121333/usa_today_13648506.0.jpg)
Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network is reporting that Anthony McKinney, who joined the Titans as an undrafted free agent, is opting out of the 2020 NFL season due to health concerns with COVID-19:
More opt-outs: #Saints veteran TE Cole Wick and #Titans undrafted rookie OL Anthony McKinney are opting out of the 2020 season, per sources.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 28, 2020
Worth noting: Undrafted rookies who take the voluntary opt-out aren’t eligible for the $150,000 salary advance.
The note from Pelissero there is important. Vested veterans will get a $350,000 advance against their 2021 salary. Players that aren’t vested get the $150,000 he mentioned...unless they were undrafted. This makes sense because you don’t want to be giving a 150K “advance” to a guy that doesn’t have a contract for next year. That would turn into a loan and probably a nightmare for all involved in a lot of cases.
McKinney opting out gets the Titans down to the 80 mark that they needed to be at before training camp starts.
There are a whole lot of players around the league that are opting out. It will be interesting to see if there are any more Titans players that choose not to take the opt-out.
You can read more about McKinney from this interview from Justin Melo back in May.