The Bears lost an enormous piece of their defense when nose tackle Eddie Goldman opted out of the 2020 season because of coronavirus concerns, but the defensive void could have been even bigger.
Linebacker Danny Trevathan, perhaps the biggest leader on Chuck Pagano's defense, admitted Friday that he considered opting out.
"I definitely took some hard thought about the whole situation," Trevathan said. "I had to see it first-hand, so I came in and I feel like they did a pretty good job handling the situation."
Click to download the MyTeams App for the latest Bears news and analysis.
It's too easy to forget that these athletes have lives off the field, and in Trevathan's case, he had some important family matters to consider. Both his fiancé and kids have asthma.
"My fiancé? That's like my backbone. So when corona happened, she has chronic asthma and allergies that are crazy. So I really thought about her and all the sacrifices she made," Trevathan said. "I think she deserves all the credit in the world. And my kids? Um, that definitely comes first to me."
Considering the damage COVID-19 can do to lungs, especially those with underlying health conditions, Trevathan's decision could not have been easy. And no one would have blamed him if he chose to sat out.
Ultimately, Trevathan decided to come into Halas Hall to judge the safety of the building for himself. Essentially, he had five days at the facility before the opt-out deadline passed on Thursday. In the end, he committed to playing the season.
"This thing is so wild," he said. "It's the first year I've ever seen something like this, anybody's seen something like this, so it definitely made me nervous a little bit. But I feel like I made the right decision."
And he's certainly not holding anything against Goldman for sitting out, even though as a linebacker who plays behind the big nose tackle, Trevathan might be impacted the most.
"I kind of chatted with him this offseason a little bit. So I kind of sensed it," Trevathan said. "I definitely support his decision."
In addition to losing Goldman, the Bears also saw reserve safety Jordan Lucas opt out of the season. But now that the deadline has passed, Trevathan is all-in, back to talking about Super Bowls again.
"I feel like we're so close right now and to do that would add to that legacy," he said.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE UNDER CENTER PODCAST FOR FREE.
Bears Danny Trevathan considered opting out, explains why he didnt originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
