Update:
The Patriots released a statement announcing “many of us” as players have decided not to attend OTAs this spring.
A statement from the New England Patriots players: pic.twitter.com/1gl84knZrS
— NFLPA (@NFLPA) April 14, 2021
New England now becomes the fifth team to have players announce through the NFLPA they won’t attend OTAs.
Four teams have now announced via the NFLPA that their players will not be attending OTAs this year.
The full list includes:
- Broncos
- Buccaneers
- Lions
- Seahawks
Other teams will likely join this group in the coming days.
The NFL and NFLPA have been negotiating for what OTAs will look like this offseason. Last year, everything was virtual due to the pandemic and the NFLPA has been pushing for that to remain the case in 2021, citing lower injury rates last season.
However, with the vaccine becoming more readily available and cases falling in many parts of the country, the NFL had been showing indications it wanted to go back to having at least some portion of in-person and on-field work for OTAs, set to start later this month.
NFLPA president J.C. Tretter called last week for players to boycott OTAs in response.
OTAs are not mandatory but some players have workout bonuses and other contract details that hinge on attendance at OTAs.
It remains to be seen if other players or teams will follow suit.
We’ll have more on OTAs as the news is available.
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I knew the Broncos were a bunch of Pu$$ie$ but I didn’t think Seattle was. Maybe it’s the overabundance of soy lattes or the 387 days of rain per year (some days it rains twice.) At what point do these men start acting like men and play some damn FOOTBALL like they’re paid an insane about of money to do?
Sad. Just sad.