The Miami Dolphins will be conducting their second set of OTAs this week at the Baptist Health Training Complex, and these will be their last for 2024.
But if the National Football Players Association has its way, these could be the final ones for good.
The NFLPA will be pushing for the elimination of OTAs, starting as early as 2025, in exchange for reporting for training camp earlier, perhaps in mid-June or early July — according to NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero.
End of OTAs? The NFL Players Association is working to finalize a proposal to overhaul the offseason starting as soon as 2025, eliminating voluntary on-field work in the spring in favor of a longer training camp ramp-up, with players reporting in mid-June to early July, per… pic.twitter.com/nQa9TmKCGO
As Pelissero points out, rules regarding the offseason program were negotiated and are governed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFLPA and the league, so some sort of negotiation would have to take place here.
Commissioner Roger Goodell has championed the idea of going to 18 regular season games and eliminating one preseason week, so it's not necessarily wild to suggest that perhaps owners would be willing to change the offseason rules to get that 18th game.
This is where we bring everyone back to the spring of 2020 when all on-field work was canceled because of COVID-19 and teams conducted meetings with their players via Zoom until training camps opened in the summer.
It's also important to note that there weren't always OTAs in the NFL. They became part of life in the NFL in the 1990s, as former league exec Bill Polian explained for the 33rd Team website last year.
The OTAs, as with every other part of the offseason except for the three-day minicamp, are voluntary and attendance can be spotty at times. While they no doubt serve a purpose, exactly how much they're needed can be debated.
And it's truly not overly shocking that they could be on their way out.
Until that time comes, if it does, we'll keep an eye on any development involving the Dolphins as they wrap up this particular offseason program.
-- First Open Dolphins OTA Observations
-- Dolphins OTAs Talking Points
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ALAIN POUPART
Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of AllDolphins.com and co-host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press, the Dolphins team website, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated). In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.
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