Eagles Offseason Work Could Be Their Last

PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles' recently completed offseason work may be the last of its kind if the NFL's inevitable march to an 18-game schedule results in a tweak to the spring schedule.

The NFL Players Association is considering putting forth a proposal to end spring work for players in favor of a longer ramp-up period to training camps that typically start in late July.

The change hasn't been received warmly in most quarters, especially with veteran players who have families. The idea is that the kids are still in school during spring work but cutting into more of the summer would affect that small window of time players have to spend with their families before the grind begins.

Brandon Graham is set to begin his 15th and final NFL season in September and any future changes will not affect him or his family. That said, the veteran admitted he would not be in favor of the projected change.

“The spring, if you want to keep it in April, go five weeks instead of eight or nine and then we get our summer time,” Graham proposed. “That’s usually a nice little break and people get to go off and do their little trip.

"Even for the coaches. Same thing. They get a little break, too. I think we’ve got to keep that June and that July, the Fourth of July, that last hoorah for the family before you really get into business. But I do know they want to go to 18 games and all that stuff, too.”

Veteran Dallas Goedert was a little more diplomatic, seeing positives to both sided of the argument.

“I’ve looked at it a little bit and it’s kind of one of those things where I can see both sides of it,” Goedert said. “I can see the positives of both. My one thing is you come in here and you do all this football stuff and you get in shape and then you have a month and a half off.

"Why do we get in such good shape now and then we have to stay in shape for the next month and half?”

Conversely, Goedert believes ditching OTAs in favor of an earlier reporting date in the summer could harm the onboarding process of the rookies and the potential for team chemistry.

“It is nice to have a little bit of structure in between the seasons,” Goedert said. “Coming into OTAs now, I think it’s real important as a team to grow and connect as a team in this period. I feel like if we come back in July and even though it’s supposed to be a ramp-up period when you get back and you don’t have a break before the season, the fun and games kind of go away and it’s just all seriousness because the season is so close at that point.”

Graham's mention of the expanding sked is spot-on and typiclaly the NFLPA has worked to get quality-of-life advancements by lightening the offseason workload in return for extra games.

Whether the union can get the players to agree that no spring work for more summer days is better could be a tough sell but one that's possible especially if the ramp-up period is voluntary.

Coaches certainly wouldn't like the changes but the league would likely acquiesce to get to the 18 games.

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