Browns push for virtual offseason

Browns players, led by starting center and NFLPA President JC Tretter, have joined the growing list of those from other NFL teams to announce that they’ll boycott in-person voluntary workouts, which are set to begin on Monday.

Players from the Broncos, Seahawks, Bucs, and Lions all put out statements through the NFLPA that they’ll collectively skip OTAs and voluntary minicamps out of an abundance of caution during the coronavirus pandemic. The Bears put one out on Thursday stating that “the majority of our locker room are choosing to exercise our right and not participate in in-person voluntary workouts in order to stay as safe as possible.”

The Patriots have also said they’ll skip the workouts.

The statements come amid the NFL sending a memo to all 32 teams on Wednesday announcing plans for the offseason program, which is scheduled to run from April 19th to June 18th. The nineweek program is all voluntary, except for one mandatory minicamp, which is scheduled to take place during Phase III, somewhere between May 24th and June 18th.

The NFLPA hasn’t approved the new plan, and will continue to negotiate the terms of the offseason with the NFL in hopes of agreeing on an all-virtual offseason program and no mandatory minicamp as the safest way to reach the finish line again in 2021.

The Browns’ statement reads:

“The NFL’s memo outlining how they plan to implement voluntary workouts falls short of what we as players believe is adequate. The Cleveland Browns players agree that a virtual offseason, like we had last year, is the best decision for everyone in our league.

“COVID-19 continues to affect our players, our families and our communities, and we must continue to take it seriously. In addition to the ongoing threat of the pandemic, we felt healthier both mentally and physically last year, which we attribute to sufficient recovery time and the lack of additional wear and tear on our bodies during the spring months. The league-wide injury-data supports us as well, as NFL players experienced a 23% reduction in missed-time injuries last season.

“For these reasons, we stand in solidarity with players from other clubs by exercising our CBA right not to attend in-person voluntary workouts this offseason. We are professionals who train year-round, wherever we spend our offseason. As we proved last year, we will be ready to compete this upcoming season.”