The first Thursday of NFL training camp season saw two potentially franchise-altering injuries with Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey carted off the practice field. One coach is tired of seeing it.
According to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, he received a message from an anonymous NFL head coach decrying the first two weeks of training camp and calling for a “restructure” of the current offseason.
“I hate the first two weeks of training camp. They need to restructure the off season,” the coach told Schefter in a text.
The anonymous coach isn’t alone in that assessment. Other NFL players including All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari have offered alternatives:
Joe Burrow carted off today with a strained calf.
Jalen Ramsey carted off today with a knee injury that will require surgery and sideline him for start of season.
Text today from a head coach: “I hate the first two weeks of training camp. They need to restructure the off season.”— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 27, 2023
“Make OTAs start the week following the 4th of July. Gives the players a longer (uninterrupted) off season, while giving the coaches a longer runway/ramp up time to get their teams ready for pre season,” Bakhtiari proposed.
“Implement mandatory strength and conditioning in July. You give guys 6 weeks off and expect them to go full speed, what do you think is going to happen?” another fan suggested.
“Ramp up starts in March. Practices start at 20 minutes and increase 5 minutes every other week to slow players into football,” a third joked.
Not everyone’s going to take it seriously but this has surely given some people pause.