Tag: Chargers voluntary workouts

Chargers OTA Attendance: Jerry Tillery among Day 1 absences

The full list of Chargers players who weren’t spotted on the practice field on Day 1 of voluntary OTAs.

The Chargers kicked off their first OTA practice of the spring Monday. This marked the beginning of Phase 3, including nine OTAs — all voluntary — and a mandatory two-day minicamp June 15-16.

There were both expected and unexpected absences on Day 1. Here’s the full list of players who weren’t spotted on the practice field at Hoag Performance Center.

Joey Bosa

Austin Ekeler

J.C. Jackson

Mike Williams

Jerry Tillery

Kenneth Murray

Tillery not participating is surprising, to say the least. The former first-round pick has failed to live up to his draft billing and is entering the final year of his contract, as the team did not pick up the fifth-year option.

A starter last season, playing time is not guaranteed this year. Instead, he will have to compete for snaps with the team’s offseason additions, Sebastian Joseph-Day, Austin Johnson, Morgan Fox, and rookie Otito Ogbonnia.

Tillery’s status will closely be monitored over the week.

Murray underwent ankle surgery earlier this offseason, but Brandon Staley said that he should be ready to start training camp.

As for Bosa, Ekeler, Jackson, and Williams, there were no explanations for their absences.

It’s worth noting that players can miss OTA sessions for various reasons, including illness, injury, or personal matters, except for mandatory minicamp on June 15-16.

Chargers players say many will skip voluntary workouts

Voluntary workouts were scheduled to begin on April 19.

Players from the Los Angeles Chargers on Friday joined players from a number of other NFL teams to say they won’t be reporting to team facilities next week to begin voluntary offseason workouts.

“We have a right in our CBA to choose whether or not we attend in-person offseason workouts and many on our team have made the decision to not attend,” the statement said.

NFL Players Association (NFLPA) president J.C. Tretter has been pushing for a repeat of last year’s offseason when COVID-19 outbreak forced teams to do everything virtually until training camps opened in August.

Per ESPN’s Dan Graziano, the NFL issued a memo to all 32 teams on Wednesday. The memo stated the only portion of the offseason that will be mandatory is minicamp in June.

Except for minicamp, the offseason programs are voluntary, even though most players participate in them and many players have contractual incentives to do so.