How Chris Thompson has endured the pandemic isn't all that different from many Americans in these trying times.
The former Redskins running back spent the past month and a half trying to find his next job. When free agency began in mid-March, Thompson found that with everyone in lockdown, teams were more reluctant to give him a contract because of injury concerns.
"I think this offseason with everything going on, it's just kind of a weird situation for everybody," Thompson told The Sports Junkies on Tuesday. "Especially for me, given my injury history. A lot of teams wanted to know if I'm healthy."
"And given that we can't travel, teams can't see doctors, doctors can't see us, there's question marks around me and everything," he said. "So the process was kind of slow at points."
Thompson ultimately signed a one-year deal with the Jaguars, reuniting him with Jay Gruden, who's now their offensive coordinator. Thompson says Jacksonville "reached out pretty early," but he wanted to wait out the process to see what other opportunities might arise. In the end, Jacksonville was a comfortable fit.
"We were kind of waiting just to see what other options were out there, what offers we would have and just try to make the best decision for myself," he said. "Just end up just trying to weigh the options and just decide what was the best thing for me to do, especially given everything that's going on. Obviously you know how me and Jay's relationship is."
"It's weird because we're going into this thing where training camp is basically everybody's preparation for getting ready for the season," he continued. "So I think also you have to weigh the options of what's smart to do. Do you go into a whole new system and try to get everything through virtual meetings and training camp?
"Or you go with people that you're comfortable with, and I've been in that system for a long time, so we decided to make the best decision for me and I'm gonna just do everything I can to help the Jags win."
Thompson's hometown of Greenville, Florida is just under a two-hour drive from his new home in Jacksonville, which made the decision all the more easier to make.
"I'm excited about that, just being close to my family again," he said. "Especially having the new baby and stuff. They now get to spend more time with my daughter. I'm excited about it."
Thompson was in contact with former Redskins offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell, who's now in the same position under Rams head coach Sean McVay in Los Angeles. The thought of reuniting with two of his former coordinators certainly was alluring to Thompson. It just didn't work out.
"There were a couple teams that called," he said. "It's just when it came down to it, at the end of it, it was the questions about my injuries, so most of the teams pretty much fell off towards the end and stuff. But Jacksonville kept pushing."
"Obviously I talked to Kev, because I was with here with him," he said. "Kevin O'Connell, he's over with the Rams. I talked to him a little bit and we were trying to figure some things out possibly there. But Jacksonville, honestly, they were coming the hardest so we made the decision to go there."
Listen to the full interview at 17:15 below.
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