Last weekend, Patriots captain Jason McCourty made it quite clear that he was not happy with the way the NFL and NFLPA were handling the mini coronavirus outbreak that was hitting the Patriots, leaving Cam Newton, Stephon Gilmore, Bill Murray and Byron Cowart on the team’s COVID-19 reserve list.
McCourty indicated that the players were circling the wagons, so to speak, inside the walls of Gillette Stadium.
Wednesday, during a video call with local reporters, veteran New England running back Rex Burkhead explained that the support and direction the players have gotten from their head coach and organization during this unique time has been much appreciated.
“He's been great. He really has just put our safety, our family's safety first, and he's been in constant communication with us on doing whatever he can or whatever the team can to put in things in place to keep us safe,” Burkhead said of Bill Belichick’s leadership. “And, you know, that's great, just knowing he has our back in these situations and these times. And so really it's just controlling what we can control, like you said, hour by hour. Things change constantly, and we're staying mentally locked in, whether we're at home or if we are up at the stadium, whatever that is, understand we have a job still to be done. And we have the Broncos coming up and we got to be ready and prepared to play them.”
Burkhead had similar praise for the New England organization as a whole.
“The Patriots have been great,” Burkhead said. “Like I said earlier, just in constant communication with us. If we feel like there's anything we feel like could possibly be safer. And it's been, every single day we're in a meeting about it, guys have asked questions. Just making sure everyone feels safe as possible and like you said there, everyone knows that there's risk. There's risk when we began training camp and so just understanding that and making sure we're all on the same page has definitely been something we've talked about every single day.”
While dealing with all the uncertainty and fluidity that the positive COVID-19 tests have brought to the job, Burkhead did emphasize a number of times that the players still have to find a way to focus on football, the task at hand and preparations to play.
“I know I've said it a few times on here but just controlling what we can control, and the coaches have relayed that every single day every time we've met,” Burkhead said. “Just understanding we gotta be locked in, we gotta be keyed in, because we have a game to play. And the guys understand that for sure. We've been getting after it in our meetings whenever we can and making sure we're in the right mindset to play this game.
“Just making sure we're focused and locked in and on our ultimate goal. And we know this season, days can constantly change but as long as we're on the same page and understand every single day that we have a goal that we want to attain, then I think that's beneficial and huge for our team.”
During his own video conference with reporters, left tackle Isaiah Wynn also expressed appreciation for the support that players have gotten in Foxborough.
“I feel great. It’s a crazy time for everybody,” Wynn said of the working environment. “But the Patriots, from the top to the bottom, have been doing a terrific job of just taking the precautionary steps needed to make sure that everybody else is safe and everybody’s well-being is taken care of.”
