Packers: Kenny Clark Says “Nobody Knows” About 2020 NFL Season
Green Bay Packers star defensive lineman Kenny Clark is in the dark as much as everyone else when it comes to the 2020 NFL season beginning on time.
With COVID-19 numbers increasing across the nation, it’s unknown if the Green Bay Packers will kick-off their offseason activities, or even the 2020 NFL season, as originally planned.
Defensive lineman Kenny Clark is certainly in the dark. Speaking with Jason Wilde of the Wisconsin State Journal, he expressed uncertainty when it comes to next season, “It’s just really tough right now. The thing is, nobody knows. Nobody knows,” Clark said. “Every day is something different. Whether it’s the coaches, whether it’s the people upstairs, whether it’s the NFLPA — nobody knows what’s going to happen day to day. So that’s just the toughest part right now. I don’t know. They have the day for us to report and all that, but you never know. That could change based on everything that’s going on. Everything’s up in the air. You just never know.”
With the entire country, not to mention the world, adjusting to this new life football would be a welcomed distraction for many fans. It’s difficult to imagine life without football in the late summer, fall and winter. Of course, player and fan safety is incredibly important. It would be reckless for the league to risk that just to move forward with training camp and games.
Clark was the 27th overall selection of the 2016 NFL Draft and is entering the final year of his rookie contract. Still just 24-years-old, he’s proven himself to be one of the most disruptive defensive linemen in the NFL despite playing in a 3-4 base that ensures his primary duties are to take on blockers.
He made his first Pro Bowl last season–long overdue if I don’t say so myself–after racking up six sacks, nine tackles for loss and seven quarterback hits to go along with 62 total tackles. The Packers’ defensive line struggled at many levels and if it wasn’t for Clark’s superb play there’s no saying how far their struggles would’ve gone.
Clark is looking for a huge payday, but it appears the pandemic has gotten in the way of that as well. During an interview on ESPN Wisconsin he said, “I just think with everything that’s going on with COVID-19, and everybody not knowing if there’s going to be a season and what’s going to happen next year, all of that is affecting the contract and everything.mI don’t really have a timeline on it of when I want it to get done. They spoke a little bit. The Packers and my agent, they have spoken. So I’m just taking it one day at a time. I understand the business and I understand everything that’s going on. So I’m just being patient with everything and just working every day.”
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The Packers have a number of prime free agents to address for 2021 including Clark, Kevin King, David Bakhtiari and Aaron Jones. It will be interesting to see who they prioritize because it’s unlikely they can re-sign all four to huge pay increases.
Whatever the future holds–whether it be the 2020 season or Clark’s contract–we’ll have to take it one day at a time.