What NFL players do in the down time before training camp starts
The NFL training camps are on the verge of commencing, and that means it’s time for players around the league to start prepping their bodies for the season.
Only a few days remain in the NFL offseason. That’s great news for us football freaks, but for the players it’s time to get back into the swing of things with the season inching closer.
No rest for the wicked
Training camps open up as early as Saturday, July 12th. The Chargers will be the first team to have their rookies report, while the veterans will join on the 16th. Most teams will wait another week before bringing the entire roster back for a rigorous few weeks leading up the the first preseason games. That means players are enjoying their final few days of freedom.
According to former NFL QB Matt Cassel, who retired in 2018, players use this time differently. There are some to fine tune their bodies to get ready for the next few weeks of practice and conditioning drills while others choose to spend their time soaking up those last few days of the offseason.
On his podcast Lots To Say with Bobby Bones, Cassel said, “You’ve got two down periods, right? Right after season, and depending on whether or not you go to playoffs, or if you’re out right after season you get pretty substantial time. And that’s when you take time off.”
Time to “rev up the engines”
This little lag time in-between OTAs in May/June and mandatory minicamps in mid to late June, Cassel said was his time to lock in and work hard to get ready. “When you get to this point, a lot of people think, you know, you might go on a little bit of getaway, but you’re kind of grinding. I used to always grind harder during this period of time getting myself ready to go for camp,” said the former Patriots, Chiefs and Vikings QB said.
Related stories
He came into camp prepared for the run tests and the throwing drills so his body wasn’t on the verge of breaking down three days into camp. “A lot of athletes, especially in the NFL during this time period, you’re just revving your engine.” Conditioning tests like the gassers, 300s, or twenty 60 yard sprints will test if a player has been preparing.
Preparation that Cassel says no everyone came into camp as prepared as he did. “They would pay the price. I’m telling you, the conditioning test is a beast… You constantly see guys throwing up. I was like, ‘You know this is coming.’” Whether or not players have been getting in game shape over the last few weeks to months will be pretty clear to coaches in the first few days. Luckily for us fans, we don’t have to worry about that. We just have to worry about how long it is until Kickoff to Week 1.
Complete your personal details to comment