Yesterday afternoon, NFL stars from across the country all took to social media to voice their concerns regarding the NFL’s current plan to return to action. With the opening of training camp scheduled for a week from tomorrow and several unanswered questions regarding operations, the preseason schedule and more, the players made sure to provide a unified voice to communicate to fans and the league alike that the players definitely want to play this season — but that the league should be following the timeline and medical protocols suggested by specialists and doctors.
According to a report from Dan Graziano of ESPN, the #WeWantToPlay campaign — an effort that included J.J. Watt, Russell Wilson and countless other NFL stars — was suggested by new Miami Dolphin defender Byron Jones.
A note on this afternoon's NFL player tweetstorm: I'm told the idea came from Dolphins CB Byron Jones, who suggested it on a player reps' call as a way of getting out the message that players aren't just trying to get out of camp. "We want to play, let's just make it safe."
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) July 19, 2020
Jones has been a fairly vocal presence on social media this offseason on a number of fronts, so it isn’t a surprise to see him bringing ideas and initiative to help the players advance their cause in what is essentially another labor negotiation — much like the one you’d typically see with a collective bargaining agreement.
For the players, the objective it to play but to “make it safe” to do so. In a close quarters game like football, space isn’t easy to come by — and so testing protocols and procedures will need to be persistent in order to protect players from the virus. Things are currently even more complicated for the Dolphins, considering South Florida is currently one of the epicenters of the ongoing pandemic. Never the less, the message from the players was clear — the NFL needs to yield to the player concerns about a return to action so that a season can get underway. But that ultimately, the goal of both sides is still to see a season played out this fall.