Over the weekend, the Eagles joined the majority of NFL teams in announcing that they, too, would not be participating in voluntary in-person workouts this spring.

Here’s the statement, issued via the Players Union:

There’s a decent amount to unpack here, but what’s happening is that the union is basically using COVID-19  as a front for getting rid of spring OTAs entirely.  It’s this idea that these work outs are more or less useless, based on the thought that last year’s virtual setup cut down on injuries without affecting the quality of regular season play.

It basically gave the union a wedge to drive, if that makes sense. COVID disrupted the typical schedule, they liked how that ultimately worked out, and now want to make it permanent.

Some other thoughts in bullet format:

  • The Eagles could absolutely use as many reps as possible. They are installing a new coaching staff and have some young players that need any practice they can get.
  • This program was always VOLUNTARY, so veterans would often sit out. It’s not totally crucial, but was another way for second/third/fourth-year players to get back in the swing of things. That split has always existed between vets and youngsters.
  • There is a mandatory three-day camp that takes place in June. I imagine everybody will be totally vaccinated by that point and COVID concerns will mostly be on the backburner.
  • With a 17th game added this year, obviously adding wear and tear on the front end of the season is pointless. You can understand why veteran players might want to chop off portions of the preseason if they’re being asked to play a longer regular season.

None of this should surprise anybody. April work was always kind of whatever. The veteran players and union saw an opportunity here to use some leverage towards and issue that’s been in their minds for some time now.