A list of Patriots is growing for opting out of the 2020 season.

As of midnight of July 29th, 2020, the New England Patriots now have $24,735,302 in cap space. The Patriots did this not with contract restructuring but with players opting out of the 2020 NFL season due to covid-19.

Safety Patrick Chung was the last of the Patriots to opt out. Chung joins Dont’a Hightower, Marcus Cannon, Najee Toran, Danny Vitale and Brandon Bolden to take off the season.

There could be more Patriots opting out, as the players have until August 3rd to make a decision on their 2020 season. The NFL had required teams to cut down to 80 players or hold to camps. With the players opting out, the Patriots are still on the hook for around $52,000 in dead cap for Will Hastings. The Patriots resigned Hastings after Dan Vitale opted out.

While some in the NFLPA are willing to sign a waiver and just want to play football, the fact that at least 19 NFL players have opted out shows players are scared of the virus. The NFL will be holding their season similar to how the MLB is operating. The MLB just had a major spike with one of it's teams, resulting in cancellations and and a scurry to rework team schedules. 

The NFL still has time to set up better protocols or even opt for a bubble format. At the moment, Unless a player dies from covid, Roger Goodell and the NFL have zero plans of stopping for anything. As for what the Patriots will do with their new cap space, it's still to be determined.