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.