The NFL Players Association is expected to propose changes to the offseason calendar that would do away with the voluntary organized team activities that are now underway around the league and replace them with additional work in the summer that would lead right into training camps.
While the proposal is coming from the NFLPA, Browns defensive tackle Shelby Harris said that he doesn’t know of any players who support the idea and Saints quarterback Derek Carr came out as an opponent of it as well. During an appearance on the Green Light podcast with Chris Long, Carr said he thinks players would get more out of the current schedule than the one that’s being proposed by the union.
“I think the skill that it takes to play all of our positions would go down because you have less time on task,” Carr said. “As a quarterback, your timing, your rhythm, your accuracy — All of that in April isn’t at its best. You use these practices, these OTAs to get there. . . . The NFL season’s already long and you’re gonna start it a month earlier, to me that would be hard. There’s so much the young players have to learn where I think OTAs are beneficial.”
The proposed changes to the offseason calendar have been tied with the league’s expected push to extend the regular season to 18 games and the financial upside of that expansion might trump any concerns about the consequences of changing offseason programs.