Tag: 2021 offseason

Bears had solid attendance for start of Phase 2 of voluntary offseason program

The Bears had about 70 players in attendance when the first day of Phase 2 of the voluntary offseason program began on Monday.

Following rookie minicamp, Phase 2 of the NFL’s voluntary offseason program began on Monday, where most Bears players were at Halas Hall.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson, the Bears had about 70 players in attendance on the first day of Phase 2 of the voluntary offseason program. And, Dickerson noted, there was “near perfect attendance on offense.”

Phase 2 of voluntary workouts includes virtual meetings, strength and conditioning and on-field work at a “teaching pace.”

The Bears announced that they’ve cancelled the first wave of Organized Team Activities that were set to be held May 25-27, which doesn’t come as a surprise following the uncertainty of whether players would participate in voluntary workouts as COVID-19 remains a risk.

The first round of OTA practices will begin June 1, with the first practice open to the media on June 2.

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The Chicago Bears have signed LB Austin Calitro

The Chicago Bears made a late-night roster move on Monday, signing linebacker Austin Calitro and releasing WR Reggie Davis.

The Chicago Bears made a late-night roster move on Monday, signing linebacker Austin Calitro, the team announced.

Calitro, an undrafted free agent out of Villanova in 2017, has appeared in 42 games, including nine starts, over the course of three seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars and Denver Broncos from 2018-20.

Before that, he spent time with the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, Seahawks and Cleveland Browns from 2017-18, although he didn’t appear in a regular-season game.

Calitro’s best season came with the Seahawks in 2018, where he played in all 16 games, including five starts, where he totaled 45 tackles, three tackles-for-loss and 0.5 sack.

The Bears have parted ways with wide receiver Reggie David to free up a roster spot for Calitro.

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The Chicago Bears have signed LB Austin Calitro

The Chicago Bears made a late-night roster move on Monday, signing linebacker Austin Calitro and releasing WR Reggie Davis.

The Chicago Bears made a late-night roster move on Monday, signing linebacker Austin Calitro, the team announced.

Calitro, an undrafted free agent out of Villanova in 2017, has appeared in 42 games, including nine starts, over the course of three seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars and Denver Broncos from 2018-20.

Before that, he spent time with the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, Seahawks and Cleveland Browns from 2017-18, although he didn’t appear in a regular-season game.

Calitro’s best season came with the Seahawks in 2018, where he played in all 16 games, including five starts, where he totaled 45 tackles, three tackles-for-loss and 0.5 sack.

The Bears have parted ways with wide receiver Reggie David to free up a roster spot for Calitro.

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LOOK: Bears QB Justin Fields getting some reps in with WR Marquise Goodwin

New Bears QB Justin Fields and WR Marquise Goodwin are hard at work in Atlanta getting some reps in this offseason.

The entire outlook for the Chicago Bears changed when they traded up to draft quarterback Justin Fields in the 2021 NFL draft. Suddenly, there’s hope and optimism surrounding this franchise, both in the immediate and long-term future.

It’s been impossible not to get hyped over the selection of Fields and what he represents for this team moving forward. And while fans might have to wait a little bit to see Fields as the starter — as Andy Dalton is currently the team’s starting QB as Fields develops — you better believe Fields is going to be ready when his number is called.

“I’m ready to work. That’s it,” Fields said back on draft night. “I’m ready to work. I don’t need to talk much. There’s been too much talking lately. I’m just ready to work — that’s it.”

And that’s exactly what Fields has been doing, as he’s already been hard at work since being drafted by Chicago just over a week ago. In fact, Fields has already started getting some reps in with new Bears wide receiver Marquise Goodwin, who signed a one-year deal with Chicago earlier this offseason, who’s got some serious wheels on him.

Here’s a look at Fields and Goodwin, who are training together down in Atlanta, courtesy of Luke Crabtree.

Fields will hit the practice field for the first time as a Bear when Rookie Minicamp kicks off May 14 at Halas Hall. Organized team activities are scheduled for  May 25-27, June 1-3 and June 7-10, although it’s unclear whether players will show up following this memo from the Bears players about opting out of voluntary workouts due to COVID concerns. Mandatory minicamp runs June 15-17 before training camp in late July.

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The Lions got faster on offense with the 2021 offseason additions

The Detroit Lions are now one of the fastest teams in the NFL based on 40-yard dash times

One of the cries from Detroit fans, one echoed here at Lions Wire, was that the 2020 Detroit Lions were too slow. They needed to get faster on both defense and offense.

New Lions GM Brad Holmes might have heard the cries because the Lions offense has indeed gotten faster this offseason. In fact, Detroit now sports one of the fastest offensive skill position groups in the entire NFL.

Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston calculated the 40-yard dash times of all the skill position players on each NFL offense. The Lions now rank third in raw speed from the 40-time averages of the running backs and wide receivers after factoring in the NFL draft class of 2021.

Detroit added speedsters Kalif Raymond (4.34 40) and Breshad Perriman (4.25) at wideout and lost players like Kenny Golladay (4.5) and Danny Amendola (4.58) who timed slower.

Speed isn’t everything, of course. No one would argue that the Lions have gotten better at the offensive skill positions with losing Golladay, Amendola, Marvin Jones and Adrian Peterson among others. But they have indeed gotten faster.

Cowboys’ offseason workout dates announced

The NFL has announced dates for all 32 teams’ voluntary workout programs, plus details of what’s permitted in each phase of the offseason.

The NFL is in a scheduling frame of mind. With less than a week before the release of the 2021 regular season game schedule, the league has now also set dates for all 32 teams’ offseason programs.

The programs occupy a nine-week span and are voluntary, as per the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The sessions are meant to give players “training, teaching, and physical conditioning” before the more physical training camps get underway later in the summer.

Here are the official dates for the Cowboys:

Rookie Minicamp: May 14-16
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 24-25, May 27, June 1, June 3-4
Mandatory Minicamp: June 8-10

The offseason program is broken down into three phases that dictate the level of contact and exposure for players.

Dallas is currently in Phase One, a four-week period (up from the usual two) that includes strength and conditioning, virtual meetings, and physical rehabilitation only. Phase One ends on May 14, when Cowboys rookie minicamp commences.

Phase Two lasts for just one work week, May 17 to 21, down from the typical three weeks. On-field workouts may include individual player instruction and drills. Players are allowed to line up across from one another and do “walkthroughs” of plays, but contact is not allowed.

Phase Three begins on May 24 and goes until June 18, its customary four-week length. In-person meetings and classroom instruction are allowed, subject to COVID-19 testing and tracking, facility access, and other protocols. Ten days of organized team practice activity are permitted; the Cowboys have six days scheduled. There is no live contact, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are allowed.

It’s beginning to look a lot like football.

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Offseason calendar for Lions minicamp, mandatory workouts now set

Offseason calendar for Lions minicamp, mandatory workouts now set

The newest Detroit Lions won’t have to wait long to get their uniforms and their first taste of playing for the team. Rookie minicamp for the Lions draft class and undrafted free agents kicks off in one week, beginning May 14th.

The NFL published the dates for all the offseason activities and camps prior to training camp for all 32 teams. Detroit’s rookie minicamp will run from May 14-16, which is in line with most other teams.

After the rookies get their work in, the rest of the team can report for OTAs on May 25-27, the first of three sets of offseason workouts. There is some question if any players will report to those OTA phases, as the NFLPA is stridently opposed to in-person work prior to training camp.

OTA Offseason Workouts: May 25-27, June 2-4, June 14-17

The drills and activities are heavily limited in the OTA sessions. They more closely resemble a half-speed walkthrough and contact is forbidden.

In between the final two OTA sessions is a mandatory minicamp. This could be the first gathering of the full Lions unit with head coach Dan Campbell at the helm.

Mandatory Minicamp: June 8-10

The dates for training camp and preseason dates have yet to be established.

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Baker Mayfield working out with several Browns receivers in Florida

Jarvis Landry, David Njoku, Austin Hooper and more joined Mayfield in Florida

Three years ago, Baker Mayfield spent the NFL draft day waiting to hear the Cleveland Browns call his name with the No. 1 overall pick. This year he’s spending it in Florida while working out with several of his Browns teammates.

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Mayfield was captured in several photos from Lew Rice on Instagram working on throwing and offensive scheming at House of Athlete in Florida. Among the Browns’ targets in attendance at the popular training center in Miami are Jarvis Landry, David Njoku, Rashard Higgins and Austin Hooper.

The Browns players did this on their own. After skipping the recent voluntary workout sessions as recommended by the NFLPA, it’s great to see Mayfield and his receiving corps still dedicated to improving this early in the offseason.

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NFLPA tells players to stay away from team facilities over COVID concerns

The players union is recommending a second straight virtual offseason; the Cowboys have had 25 players work out in-person already.

With the number of Americans who have been fully or partially vaccinated against COVID-19 growing daily, it may seem like things are getting back to normal everywhere. But the NFL’s approximately 2,000 players are bracing for yet another virtual offseason over coronavirus concerns.

On Tuesday, the players’ union recommended to players on all 32 teams that they not attend their clubs’ voluntary workouts, scheduled for most to begin on Monday.

As reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the memo sent by NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith and union president JC Tretter paints a picture of league facilities that are actually worse off than they were at this time last year, when skyrocketing virus numbers effectively shut down a large portion of American businesses across all sectors and forced citizens into quarantined lockdowns.

The letter reads, in part:

“As we have made clear throughout bargaining, the COVID status in the country is as perilous as it was at this point last year; a number of players recently tested positive at team facilities; COVID weekly positive rates are as high, if not higher than, at this point last offseason; and NFL players who contracted COVID last season can become infected again.”

Most ominously, the letter goes on to argue that a second straight virtual offseason program “gives us the best chance to completing a full NFL season in 2021.”

Pelissero reported earlier that the Denver Broncos had become the first team to announce that they would boycott their team’s in-person voluntary workouts. The Seattle Seahawks followed suit, as did the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But the Cowboys actually lead the league in in-person workouts at the facility thus far this offseason, with 25 players having made an appearance at The Star in Frisco, as per a Pelissero source.

 

Quarterback Dak Prescott famously installed a practice field at his house last offseason; several of his Cowboys teammates made appearances and took part in passing drills at the backyard gridiron with The Star off-limits.

Despite precautions, running back Ezekiel Elliott was diagnosed with COVID-19 last June. Backup quarterback Andy Dalton missed time during the season with COVID complications as he recovered from a concussion. Defensive tackle Walter Palmore tested positive during the season, as did a third player as recently as January 1.

News of the union’s recommendation that players stay away from their team facilities comes on the same day that the league informed clubs that Tier 1 and 2 employees “should be expected to be vaccinated unless they have a bona fide medical or religious ground for not doing so.” No vaccine, no admittance to “football only” restricted areas of team facilities and no working in close proximity with players.

That mandate specifically excludes the players themselves, but it drives home the heightened state of watchfulness that the league is operating under just days before offseason programs are set to begin.

The league has already announced expectations that there would be fans in the stands in 2021, but for the second year in a row, there is suddenly some question- at least among the leaders of the players union- as to whether there will be teams on the field.

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It sounds like the Russell Wilson-to-Bears dream is officially dead

Despite Adam Schefter’s reports that Russell Wilson could still be traded to the Bears, it seems as if that’s officially been put to bed.

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It’s difficult being a Chicago Bears fan, especially when it comes to the quarterback position. After allowing themselves to dream about a potential future with Russell Wilson as their quarterback, the harsh reality of Andy Dalton as QB1 has settled in.

Despite multiple reports from NFL insiders like Adam Schefter that there was still a chance that the Seattle Seahawks could trade Wilson, it seems as if that’s officially been put to bed as we near the 2021 NFL draft.

Seahawks defensive end Carlos Dunlap said he needed assurance that Wilson would return this season before choosing to re-sign with Seattle last month. And he got it.

“I did ask him if, obviously, he was going to be with us, because if I’m coming back, I’m coming back because I see him as my quarterback, and the rest of the team, I want to pick up where we left off,” Dunlap said Tuesday, via ESPN. “And he told me he’s with us and he’s here to stay, and he said, ‘Let’s go, Hawks.’ I’m not going to quote his every word. These words are not his words verbatim, but these are my explanation of how I interpreted what he said.”

The Bears were aggressive in their pursuit of Wilson this offseason, and they even made an offer to Seattle that included three first-round picks, a third-round pick and two players. But even after the Seahawks closed the door on trading Wilson — at least this offseason — Schefter and other insiders kept our slim hopes alive that the Wilson-to-Chicago chatter wasn’t dead yet.

According to Schefter, the Bears haven’t given up hopes of potentially trading for Wilson, despite signing Dalton to a one-year deal in free agency.

Even ESPN’s Chris Mortensen said “Russell Wilson and the Bears are not totally off the board” just a few days ago, which could mean someone or nothing at all.

There was never a real expectation that Chicago would land Wilson. It was always a pipe dream. But perhaps now Bears fans will finally get the closure that they need. Well, at least until next offseason when talks of a Wilson trade could heat up once again.

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