NFL offers compromise as players stand ground

The NFL offered its players a compromise on Wednesday, announcing a revised 2021 offseason schedule that pushes back the start of voluntary on-field player work from this coming Monday to May 17.

But the players continued to take a stand through their union that they will not be attending voluntary workouts this offseason.

The Lions and Patriots became the fourth and fifth teams, respectively, to release statements through the NFL Players’ Association, following the lead of the Broncos, Seahawks and Buccaneers on Tuesday.

“In solidarity with other players across the NFL and in the interest of our health and safety, many of us at the New England Patriots will be exercising our right to not attend voluntary workouts this offseason,” the Patriots players’ statement read.

And NFLPA leadership even sent a memo to players Wednesday evening that said: “Men, The NFL’s announcement does not address any of the concerns raised by the players.”

The five teams’ statements do not speak for every player on these rosters. There are players already lifting weights or rehabbing at many team facilities already, including the Giants’.

But the statements released through the NFLPA do speak for the majority of players on those respective teams, union sources told the News. And a source said to expect the trickle of team statements to continue in support of maintaining a virtual offseason.

Team sources indicated there has been no organizing effort yet among Giants players to discuss releasing a similar statement, but that doesn’t mean player rep Nate Solder and other veterans won’t do so eventually.

The NFL released the new offseason schedule on Wednesday to provide a structure that would be acceptable to both the players and their coaches. The league instructed all 32 teams to follow Wednesday’s memo, which set forth the structure for voluntary offseason workout programs and minicamps.

It’s important to note, however, that while many national media outlets reported this new offseason schedule as gospel, the union has not signed off on it and is still fighting any on-field work at all.

In other words, Wednesday did not mark a resolution to the NFL’s and union’s negotiations. It was simply the latest chapter in their continuing back and forth.

The NFL anticipates further discussion about all of these details prior to the start of voluntary on-field drills with coaches on May 17. And it’s clear they will hear from the union, which remains unsatisfied.