OTAs could be DOA. Or MIA. Whatever. They might go away.
PFT (those bastards) reported back in February that the NFL Players Association was “exploring the possibility of attempting a full overhaul of the offseason program,” with the current workouts scrapped in favor of a longer runway in advance of training camp.”
“For instance,” we wrote at the time, “the existing series of phases and OTAs and minicamps that are followed by six weeks of down time could be swapped for four weeks before training camp. That would give players a lot more time off, and it would potentially make them just as ready for camp, since they’d go straight from the pre-training camp workouts into camp.”
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, the union is currently “working to finalize a proposal to overhaul the offseason starting as soon as 2025,” with voluntary on-field work gone and a longer training camp, with players showing up from mid-June to early July.
The NFLPA can make whatever proposal it wants. It won’t change the status quo without making concessions.
What will the union give up to get this change to the current schedule? What will the NFL want?
It could be part of the broader give-and-take that precedes a push to 18 games. Of course, the union would need more than a revamped offseason to justify another regular-season game. But this could be part of it.
Even if the coaches don’t like it, the owners will be pragmatic: “What does it cost us? Nothing? Let’s do it.”
That’s what happened in 2011, as the lockout was resolved. The union asked for changes to practice that didn’t cost the owners any money, and the owners pounced. History could repeat itself with this, especially if the owners see a way to make more money without spending any.