As rookies are expected to report to training camps as soon as Monday in Kansas City and Houston, there are still many questions the NFL is dealing with in regard to safety protocols. Jeff Darlington, from ESPN, joined the show this morning to talk about those protocols and he discussed how this limited offseason may impact a young team like the Dolphins.
“The players think the ramp-up period should be now, it should be a 21-day period where they just work on strength and conditioning," Darlington said about the offseason. "The other aspect of the importance of preseason games, there’s a contingency of the players at the bottom of the roster who want preseason games, they need it to prove themselves.”
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While many veteran players may be in favor of no preseason games, there are many young players and teams that may be negatively affected by the shortened offseason program. The Dolphins are one of those very young teams who could have benefitted from a full offseason, Darlington said.
“It’s a weird year, this is a strange time," Darlington started. "Could Tua have seen Week 1 action in a normal circumstance... maybe. In this circumstance, no. I don't think that that's even realistic. It would be really nice to have a full preseason for a guy like Tua. It's just not the year."
Darlington continued about Tua Tagovailoa and other rookies on the roster.
"They're not going to have the same acclimation period," Darlington said. "They didn't have the same offseason. For this rookie class it's going to be tough to make an early impact, and I don't even know if you want them to be vulnerable to that. If you're a Dolphins fan, you're sick of it, but you have to continue to chalk this up to another developmental year."
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