With the coronavirus quarantine still in effect, there’s a high probability NFL teams won’t be able to hold their usual offseason programs. But even if COVID restrictions are lifted in the near future, the Saints won’t be reporting to OTAs.
Per ESPN’s Dianna Russini, Saints coach Sean Payton informed his players Wednesday morning the team will not hold spring workouts, regardless of whether the league permits offseason activities. During Wednesday’s Zoom conference, which was attended by 80 players, Payton said the Saints will not reconvene until training camp, “even if it’s allowed.”
Minicamp and offseason regiments are a good way to dust off the cobwebs after a long winter, but Payton said players are on their own this time. “Show up in July for training camp in the best shape of your life,” Payton instructed his players during Wednesday’s meeting. “Take care of your families, your health and be ready this summer.” Rather than keeping tabs with online meetings and virtual workouts, Payton is trusting his players to do the work themselves.
Forgoing OTAs is an unprecedented measure and, given the recent sentiment expressed by protestors weary of government intervention, perhaps an unpopular one. Obviously, the subject of player safety hits close to home for Payton, who was among the first NFL staffers to test positive for COVID-19, which he has since recovered from. Two players have also tested positive for the virus including All-Pro linebacker Von Miller of the Denver Broncos, who claims he only left the house four times in the month before his diagnosis and never left the car on those few occasions. “I was shocked,” Miller told NBC’s Sheinelle Jones during his appearance on The Today Show last Friday. “We’ve been taking this serious since Day 1.”
Payton’s decision to pull the plug on New Orleans’ offseason training is both admirable and a drastic departure from the attitudes expressed by other coaches, including Oklahoma State bench boss Mike Gundy, who had hoped to have his players back in the building by May 1 (school administrators quickly put the kibosh on that plan). Hopefully the Saints heed Payton’s warnings and stay at home instead of going full Florida Man like Tom Brady.
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