Compromise Could Save Key Part of Offseason for Packers
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Players from almost two-thirds of NFL teams have announced they will not be participating in offseason programs, which begin on Monday.
Players from the Philadelphia Eagles were the latest to announce their decision to skip the voluntary workouts, citing “the ongoing pandemic” and “overall health and safety numbers.”
The Green Bay Packers reportedly have reached a compromise to save the most important aspects. According to Pro Football Talk, the team will allow players to skip in-person participation of Phase I of the offseason in program. So long as they participate virtually, the 19 players with workout incentives in their contracts will be on course to collect those payments.
What is Phase I? Here’s the offseason breakdown from SI.com’s Albert Breer in his massive Monday Morning Quarterback column.
• Phase I of the program has been extended for two extra weeks, so it’ll go from April 19 to May 14. That piece of spring is, for the most part, made up of strength-and-conditioning and classroom work—and, really, it’s just two hours of work in the facility per day, four days a week, for the next four weeks. Teams can’t do on-field drills, coaches can't work with the players on the field and all meetings have to be virtual.
• Phases II and III cover another five weeks, from May 17 to June 18, and that period covers early field work, OTAs and the full-squad mandatory minicamps. It’s truncated because of the lengthier Phase I, so Phase II (which adds non-contact, on-field drills at a “teaching pace”) lasts just a week. The teams have their 10 OTA days, which includes the three-day mandatory minicamp, and are allowed to start having in-person meetings during the four-week Phase III period.
The compromise allows players to stay home for Phase I but be in Green Bay for what’s important to the coaches – the on-field portion of the offseason.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire offseason was virtual last year. With Zoom meetings replacing in-person instruction and practices, the Packers thrived. An offense that struggled in 2019, the first season under coach Matt LaFleur, exploded in 2020. Led by the No. 1-scoring attack in the NFL, Green Bay finished 13-3 and made it back to the NFC Championship Game.
“It kind of hit us at the last second last year. There was the thought that it might happen and then it happened and we only had a couple weeks to prepare and we threw all kinds of stuff together,” offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said on March 2. “I think the coaches did an amazing job building that offensive playbook that we did virtually through Zoom, through the different videos and all the different interactive things we did as a group and I think it really helped our guys.”
COVID-19 is a stated reason why players from numerous teams have announced they will skip their teams’ offseason program. Due in part to vaccinations, COVID-19 has been on the wane throughout most of the country.
When the Packers conducted their practice of training camp on Aug. 15, the community average was 14.0 new cases per day per 100,000 population, according to Johns Hopkins University. By mid-October, the rate was 84.10 – by far the worst among all NFL cities. Now, it’s 11.30, one of the lowest in the NFL. That doesn’t mean the world is safe, though. There’s been a major resurgence in Detroit, which has a rate of 72.02 new cases per day per 100,000 population. The New York metropolitan area’s rate is 55.29.
COVID is just part of the players’ stance. In 2020, when there was no on-field offseason work, a shortened training camp with a two-week acclimation period, fewer players in camp and no preseason games, injury numbers were down sharply. There were 30 percent fewer injuries and 23 percent fewer injuries that led to missed playing time, according to the NFLPA.
“Overall, the injury data shows the decisions we made for the health and safety of our players made a positive impact, and that’s why the NFLPA believes we should continue to build on the changes introduced in the 2020 season,” Cleveland Browns center and NFLPA President JC Tretter, a former Packers player, wrote for the NFLPA. “My No. 1 priority will always be working to make our jobs safer.
“Time and time again, when we as a union push for a safer work environment, members of the of NFL community will incorrectly warn that any change will negatively impact the product. The positive thing about this year was that we proved we can prioritize player health and safety while still putting out a top-notch product for our fans.”
While many young players fighting for roster spots probably are in favor of having a full offseason program, established veterans are driving the train. It’s not that they’re being lazy; they’re just aware of the grind that’s ahead – an even longer grind with the dawn of a 17-game season.
“I think it's more that veteran players want to have flexibility to work out where they want to work out with who they want to work out with; the personal trainers,” former NFL coach Jim Mora Jr. told SI.com’s All Cardinals. “These guys know their bodies. They take care of their bodies. This is how they earn their living, it's their profession. I think the restrictions of having to come in in the offseason and do certain things can take a toll on these guys. We don't understand how brutal a sport this is, and how it's not just physically draining, it's emotionally draining and they need a chance to recover.”
