The arrival of in-person OTAs -- you know, the much-debated portion of the spring this year -- has brought about some interesting changes.
At least 22 of the NFL's 32 teams have modified plans for their OTAs starting this week following discussions between players and coaches, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Monday. The modifications include reducing tempo and/or the number of practices, per Pelissero.
Some veterans who opposed in-person, on-field work after an entirely virtual offseason a year ago are still staying away from team facilities, Pelissero added, but after weeks of talking about not attending these sessions, a good amount of players are showing up.
Sean Payton's Saints have 87 percent of their roster in the building for their activities, the coach said Monday, but the action won't look quite as typical of most of the NFL's teams at this time of the year. Payton said his team is shifting away from traditional football-focused activities and is spending more time working on getting the players in the proper physical condition ahead of the summer's training camp.
"I think it's moved in a direction where we're spending a lot more time with them in the weight room, running, conditioning, and I'm a fan of that," Payton said, via the team's official website. "We're going to kind of continue that pattern really all the way before the break this summer.
"We're not going to have a formal practice setup. I really want them focusing more on the weights, and not just the rookies, all of those guys -- really working on getting their body weights where they're supposed to be, getting the conditioning level where it's supposed to be, all those things that can help them when training camp starts."
Payton's approach could be seen as a minor victory for the group opposing on-field work. After all, it seems as if the Saints are following such an avenue because they performed well after an entirely remote offseason ahead of the 2020 regular season, finishing the campaign with a 12-4 mark and an appearance in the Divisional Round. There might be something to lightening a player's offseason workload after all.
Payton also doesn't exactly have to install a new system or start building a culture for a team in need of a turnaround, so he's operating from a position of luxury. The coach has been in charge of the Saints since 2006, meaning time spent by some new regimes putting the basics in place can instead be used to ensure optimal physical readiness for Payton's players.
It's not a perfect model, because every team's situation is unique. Bill Belichick's Patriots, for example, might need this time to get their large assortment of new additions acclimated with the Patriot Way. But for the established clubs, strategically approaching late May and early June could mean the difference between losing a key player or two to injury come fall.
It's largely still a guessing game, and as players will tell you, they know their bodies better than anyone. Payton might have a better grip on his team's needs than the average, less-experienced coach.
If anything, it's an interesting shift in approach amid a climate that has seen offseason procedures debated intensely by those on the players' union side. We'll see this season if it makes a difference -- and if this copycat league watches more teams adopting such an approach in the future.
