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The NFL said nothing specific about how the off-season programs are going to play out this year, but NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said before the Super Bowl that “the virtual will be part of our lives” regardless of the return to face-to-face work this year.
Some players would like everything to be virtual. Browns center and NFL Players Association president JC Tretter believes that “there is no reason to go back to the previous offseason program”. Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians shared his vision of why Tretter and other established players feel this way while advocating a return to the pre-pandemic way of doing things.
“If we miss spring, [young players] we are not developing. Veterans love this shit, because it means they won’t have their jobs, ”said Arians, through Greg Auman of TheAthletic.com. “So, when you have veterans voting on the rules. . . . these kids need practice. If vets don’t want to come, they don’t have to come. It is still voluntary. We need preseason, we definitely need some preseason games. “
Tretter and other players also talked about feeling healthier after a period of off-season without working in the field, but Arians said he would “fight what they are saying about injuries” because the players had more problems early in the game. camp than they have seen in the past seasons.
Other veteran players shared their views on the benefits of OTAs and other off-season work, but it remains to be seen how things will look in the 2021 season.