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What's In Store for Offseason Workouts?

The Miami Dolphins are scheduled to open their offseason program April 19, but there's a lot of uncertainty because of COVID-19
Alain Poupart|
What's In Store for Offseason Workouts?
What's In Store for Offseason Workouts?

The New England Patriots became early Wednesday afternoon the fifth team around the NFL to have its players announce through the NFLPA that they would not be attending voluntary offseason workouts.

The Miami Dolphins are scheduled to begin their offseason program Monday, but it's fair to say its status is up in the air based on the NFLPA desire for an all-virtual offseason program the same as last spring, plus the players from the four teams taking a stand.

The Patriots players followed the Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions in announcing their boycott of offseason workouts, which again are voluntary per the Collective Bargaining Agreement except for one minicamp.

In the case of the Patriots, the NFLPA statement indicated that "many of us" would be skipping the voluntary offseason workouts, which suggests that some players would be on hand.

And this is where perhaps the issue of workout bonuses come into play, and what perhaps needs to be monitored as it pertains to the Dolphins.

The Dolphins roster includes 13 players with 2021 workout bonuses ranging from $25,000 to $200,000 for kicker Jason Sanders, according to spotrac.com.

Sanders, who signed a five-year contract extension in the offseason, but it starts in 2022. For this year, his base salary is $900,000, so $200,000 is most definitely not an insignificant amount.

The next largest workout bonus, according to spotrac.com, goes to DeVante Parker at $100,000; followed by Albert Wilson and Jesse Davis at $75,000; Allen Hurns and Jakeem Grant at $50,000; and Xavien Howard, Emmanuel Ogbah, Eric Rowe, Ereck Flowers, Zach Sieler, Clayton Fejedelem and Adam Shaheen at $25,000.

NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith made the case for a second consecutive virtual offseason in a Twitter post when he stressed that the goal was pushing for the safest possible way for the NFL to prepare and complete the 2021 season.

Published
Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of Miami Dolphins On SI and host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press and the Dolphins team website. In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books, such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.

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