The NFL is changing — and fast.
With NFL teams cancelling their voluntary OTAs and mandatory minicamps because of players boycotting them, it’s wild to hear stories from the New England Patriots of insanely physical and demanding practices, even over the last decade. Retired Patriots receiver Julian Edelman recalled a session of practice during a playoff bye when the team split in half, and scrimmaged.
Nowadays, teams are thrilled to get a playoff bye, because it means resting their players so they’re physically prepared for a matchup. In 2014, it was very different. They went all out.
“We would have these scrimmages and I don’t know if it was that year or if it was ’14. It must have been ’14,” Edelman said. during his appearance on “Green Light with Chris Long.” “There was a snow storm and it was frozen over at the practice fields, because it was so cold. Half of the stadium was frozen over, because it didn’t have the heated pipes under. We’re having a full-on scrimmage a week before the playoffs start. I’m talking about — guys are like Braveheart out there. You know what I mean?”
That is wild. You can bet those days are absolutely over.
