Name: For asthmatic Saints TE Cole Wick, opting out of season is 'bigger than football'
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For asthmatic Saints TE Cole Wick, opting out of season is 'bigger than football'

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You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Cole Wick couldn't breathe.The then-eighth grader in Hallettsville, Texas, didn't know why his lungs were seemingly failing him while he played in a middle school football game.Wick was in for a long string of plays before something felt off.&nbsp;"The feeling of not being able to breathe and suffocating when you know there's nothing wrong is an eerie feeling," Wick said.&nbsp;After the episode, Wick was diagnosed with asthma and has played football with his condition mostly in check for the past 13 years.&nbsp;But for the first time since he was in grade school, Wick won't be suiting up this fall in any capacity as he became the first New Orleans Saints player to opt out of the season because of coronavirus concerns — a decision that weighed heavy on both him and his wife Kristin, who is pregnant with their first child."It's bigger than football," Wick said. "I have to live with the body that I leave football with."Even in normal conditions, Wick has to take extra precautions to keep himself in top shape.&nbsp;Before every practice, he takes one or two puffs from his inhaler to ensure he doesn't labor to breathe while working on routes. And on Saturdays, he spends 20 minutes using a nebulizer — a medical device used to turn liquid medicine into mist — to breathe in his medications.&nbsp;Wick, who's been on the active rosters in Detroit and San Francisco, said he felt that using his nebulizer the day before games made the biggest difference in his breathing."You have to stay on top of it or else it'll really affect you," he said.&nbsp;He knows from experience.He wasn't the best at taking care of his asthma while in college at Incarnate Word. Because of that, Wick said he used to have asthma attacks about once a week.Now, it depends.When his allergies are acting up, his attacks flare up too. And practicing outside in the Bay Area when fires were raging in Northern California was also tough on his lungs.So the thought of playing football while a respiratory virus is running rampant around the country made Wick nervous."This is really difficult," Wick said, "But I'm just being safe rather than sorry, and potentially coming out of it with something worse than I'm going in with, that was a big thing for me."&nbsp;For Wick and others, there are more questions than answers when it comes to COVID-19.Wick asked: What happens when the majority of a team, like baseball's Miami Marlins, comes down with the virus? And then a broader query: What does the future hold for coronavirus survivors?If you're a Saints fan you won't want to miss this newsletter. Sign up today."We can't see what's going to happen in 10 years to the people who survived it," Wick said.&nbsp;While the NFL and its players' association were negotiating an amended collective bargaining agreement, Wick wasn't sure what to expect.&nbsp;The two sides agreed on two pathways for potential opt outs. Players without medical conditions who abstain receive a $150,000 salary advance, while players who have pre-existing conditions, including asthma, can earn $350,000 and accrue an earned season.Wick felt the negotiated deal was a fair one.&nbsp;"It brings comfort knowing that if you opt out, they're going to take care of you," Wick said.Wick said the Saints understood the reasoning behind him opting out and held no ill will toward him.&nbsp;As of Thursday evening, 27 players around the league have opted out of the 2020 season, including fellow Saints reserve tight end Jason Vander Laan.Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said Tuesday&nbsp; he didn't expect that many league-wide opt outs, but understood the reasonings behind them."It's such a personal decision," Loomis said. "And I respect that."Wick said he took roughly three days to decide on sitting out — spending most of that time agonizing over the choice.Wick, who spent the end of the 2019 season on the Saints' practice squad, knows he wasn't guaranteed a roster spot — especially with the Saints having Pro Bowler Jared Cook, veteran Josh Hill and third-round draft pick Adam Trautman at his position.He said the Saints have a good chance to win a Super Bowl this year, so "sitting out of that, it just absolutely eats me alive," Wick said.But when it came down to it, Wick couldn't rationalize playing.Not with his asthma.Not with his wife being pregnant.&nbsp;"With the whole season in question, it's just hard to rationalize staying," Wick said. "It could end any day. I'd rather not take the risk. You know, maybe I get it and I come home and pass it onto my wife and who knows what happens there."Wick now has a year to prepare for the 2021 season. He said he's going to spend his time working on his inefficiencies and get in even better shape for the years to come.&nbsp;And on game days this fall, he'll sit in front of his television, cheering for the team he walked away from to hopefully break their recent playoff curse."We should have made a run last year," Wick said. "The year before that, kind of got screwed. Year before that, kinda got screwed. It's a really weird spin of bad luck we're dealing with, but for all intents and purposes, I hope we have a season for them so they can go out there and get it done."Email Amie Just at .© Copyright 2022 , 840 St. Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA&nbsp;| &nbsp;|Powered by from .

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.Cole Wick couldn't breathe.The then-eighth grader in Hallettsville, Texas, didn't know why his lungs were seemingly failing him while he played in a middle school football game.Wick was in for a long string of plays before something felt off.&nbsp;"The feeling of not being able to breathe and suffocating when you know there's nothing wrong is an eerie feeling," Wick said.&nbsp;After the episode, Wick was diagnosed with asthma and has played football with his condition mostly in check for the past 13 years.&nbsp;But...

For asthmatic Saints TE Cole Wick, opting out of season is 'bigger than football'

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