Players opt out of voluntary workouts
Join growing movement across NFL
A week after team captain and NFL Players Association representative Cam Heyward tweeted his opposition to a normal offseason program this year, Steelers players announced through the union Friday that they will not attend voluntary activities in 2021.
“We should not be made to compromise our health and safety,” their statement reads. “With the current pandemic still affecting our communities and country, and the lack of clear protocols and protections regarding returning to work at full capacity, the players of the Pittsburgh Steelers have decided to exercise our right to not participate in voluntary in-person activities.
“A virtual offseason helped keep us safe to not only start, but finish the regular season as safely as possible and it makes no sense for us to risk infection or injury in the spring if we don’t have to.”
The Steelers aren’t pioneers here.
They’re actually the 11th team to have players opt out of organized team activities, more commonly known as OTAs. It’s not new for OTAs to be voluntary, but prior to COVID-19 shutting down those programs last year, most players opted to attend the first full-team practices of the new season.
Generally, OTAs consist of 10 practices over the course of three weeks. What is mandatory is a three-day minicamp in June, and that hasn’t changed with the new collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players union. So every NFL team is slated to gather in-person for that, but until then the players are drawing a hard line with the organizations that employ them.
The league sent a memo to teams earlier this week revising the structure of the offseason calendar. Under the new schedule, on-field work wouldn’t begin until May 17, with “Phase 1” of the program beginning as early as April 19 but with all meetings being virtual.
Still, that isn’t enough for the players. Many are already working out or rehabbing injuries at their team facilities, in Pittsburgh and in other cities, but players en masse are pushing back on the idea of offseason workouts that aren’t required but are often treated as such.
While coaching staffs certainly relish the chance to get eyes and hands on their players for the first time since the previous season ended, Mike Tomlin has often referred to these no-hitting practices “football in shorts” — with the implication that you shouldn’t read too much into it.
Not long after the Steelers players released their statement, the Atlanta
Falcons did the same, and theirs was much more brief. It also pointed to disagreements even among players themselves, some of whom undoubtedly look forward to returning to their cities and practicing with teammates.
“Many of our players will decide to exercise their right to not attend the voluntary offseason program,” Falcons players wrote. “That right is afforded to every player through our CBA. While our team is not unanimous, we respect the decisions of every player across the league and will remain professional in our approach to the game.”
At this time, it’s unclear exactly how many Steelers players have been using UPMC Rooney Sports Complex of their own volition, but a source told the PostGazette three or four were in the building Friday, including new quarterback Dwayne Haskins. The Steelers declined to comment on what percentage of team employees are vaccinated against COVID-19. Other teams who have declared their intention to forgo full-team voluntary activities are the Browns, Patriots, Buccaneers, Seahawks, Broncos, Raiders, Bears, Lions and Giants.