‘Football can wait’: Patriots safety Patrick Chung shares his thoughts on Coronavirus isolation

Like the rest of the NFL and his teammates, New England Patriots defensive back Patrick Chung is currently living the isolated life as a result of the current Coronavirus pandemic: he is spending his days in his house in Massachusetts together with his nine-year-old son Taj. While the situation as a whole is a challenging one, Chung has adapted well as he recently acknowledged in an essay written for The Players Tribune.

“Me and my family truly are homebodies, so this works for us,” Chung noted about quarantine. “During the day, I’m running around fixing stuff. I try to stay busy. I can’t really sleep late, so I get up around 6:30 or 7. I just lay around for a minute. Then I go downstairs and boil some eggs. I hit the Peloton, do push-ups and work with resistance bands — quick stuff like that. Cooking a lot, cleaning a lot, and finally getting to those little house chores.”

Chung added that he had put up lights and installed cameras, and also would be working on building a field for his son in the backyard. But while he has been able to stay busy both when it comes to maintaining his home and keeping his son occupied, busier days are on the horizon for the 32-year-old: the Patriots will kick off their offseason workout program next Monday, despite the first phase having to take place in a virtual setting.

But while preparations for the upcoming season will begin soon, albeit on a voluntary basis, Chung pointed out that the sport itself only has a marginal meaning at the moment: “Football can wait. There’s a lot more things in the world to be worried about, to be honest. We gotta be safe. Football is a job, it’s a sport. It’s done a lot for me. But at the same time, we got this thing going on, we have to make sure that everyone is safe.”

“Football will be there when we get back, but we gotta make sure that everyone will be there to watch,” he added while also citing the uncertainty surrounding the situation: “This is just one of those things where we don’t really know what could happen. All you can do is follow the rules, hope for the best, and make sure your people have what they need and go from there. This is something where you can’t be ignorant to what’s going on in the world.”

Chung is entering his 11th season with the Patriots this year, and will play a leadership role on a roster that has lost considerable talent and experience over the course of the offseason. This is nothing new for him, however: ever since his 2014 return to New England after a one-year stint in Philadelphia, he has been one of the most vocal members of the team — and he continues to be even when talking about the Covid-19 outbreak.

“We should have been doing this hygiene stuff the whole time. Washing our damn hands,” he wrote. “Everyone’s living normal, cleaner lives now. So that’s a plus. Who would have thought we needed so many PSAs on hand-washing. I saw a car commercial that said, ‘Wash your hands,’ at the end. It’s great. [...] We all have to be talking to each other about this stuff, make sure everyone’s being safe and being smart.”

“Be smart,” he added. “Don’t think you’re Superman, or think that this can’t affect you or your family.”