It feels like a lifetime ago we had no idea if the Pittsburgh Steelers and NFL would have a 2020 season. With the NFL owners wanting to continue to play, players and the NFLPA demanded safety and health protocols to be implemented. The NFL and NFLPA agreed to daily testing, virtual offseason, and untraditional training camps along with no preseason; and a few financial deals for 2021. With a few close calls and a lot of diligence, the NFL played all 256 games in a span of 17 weeks—no cancellations and a handful of reschedules.
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Here we are in 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic seems to be on the right track to recovery and restrictions are being lifted across the country. It sounds like it’s time to return to normal offseason OTA’s, minicamps, and other activities… right? Captain and players union rep Cameron Heyward took to Twitter to voice concerns from the players' standpoint and point out some benefits of a virtual offseason.
1. Less injuries occurred across the league 2. No plan to mitigate or control while WE are still in a pandemic. Work should continue to work virtually & craft as we still do not have all answers. If ALL teams can’t have the same safe guidelines why would you argue against it.
— Cam Heyward (@CamHeyward) April 9, 2021
Not only does he voice valid frustration over no confirmations in plans for offseason activities, but he also makes great points. Offseason injuries were down across the league overall—which is always a plus. However, circling back to no clear plan, there is no clear 2021 offseason protocol to mitigate and control the pandemic within the organization. Sure, it’s easy to say just continue daily testing—but that involves money that some of the owners may not want to continue to pay for. Harsh or not, the bottom-line is what the owners want to see improved after a chunk of revenue was lost last year.
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Heyward also encouraged the rookies and free agents to reach out to team veterans to help them get up to speed. Most importantly, he emphasizes OTA’s and some offseason workouts are mandatory—don’t let the organizations intimidate you into workouts.
It’s all VOLUNTARY but fellas don’t let them FEAR you in to showing up.
— Cam Heyward (@CamHeyward) April 9, 2021
While this is a great series of tweets with valid concerns and positives to consider virtual offseason workouts, I can’t help but think of the guys who will be at a disadvantage without these offseason in-person activities. It makes sense to reach out to veterans if you’re a rookie drafted in the first 4 rounds… you'll probably be on the 53-man roster; but the undrafted free agents are at the biggest disadvantage. Last year’s lack of preseason games proved this to be the case—not many UDFA’s made rosters compared to previous seasons.
In the midst of what-ifs, advantages, and disadvantages of option for offseason workouts, there is one clear thing that everyone can be agreed upon in Cameron Heyward’s tweets: the league and players union needs to keep the health and safety of the players first. The NFL and NFLPA need to figure out what the offseason will look like this year and any protocols involved. Cameron Heyward has called for them to step up and figure this out. Time is ticking. Cameron Heyward may be the voice needed to push negotiations forward that both prioritize player safety and health; and helping give those at a disadvantage last year the opportunity to land a 53-man spot.
— Cam Heyward (@CamHeyward) April 9, 2021
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