While many NFL teams have kicked off “virtual” offseasons, with players taking part in online meetings and workout sessions, the Saints don’t plan on doing the same. Head coach Sean Payton recently told New Orleans’ players that the club won’t hold a virtual offseason at all, according to Dianna Russini of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
Saints players won’t be required to show up at the team facility even if league rules change. Payton told his players to take care of their families and “show up for training camp in the best shape of [their] lives,” per Russini.
While not holding an offseason program may give Saints players peace of mind, it could have complicated the payment of workout bonuses, which were intended to be earned through the virtual program. As Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com tweets, linebacker Demario Davis is due a $250K workout bonus, while other players like Terron Armstead, Cameron Jordan, and Larry Warford have bonuses of $100K in their contracts.
However, the Saints have already contacted the NFLPA about their plan to not hold virtual sessions, tweets Jane Slater of NFL.com. Players who have workout bonuses will still receive them, per Slater.
Kudos to Payton for having some common sense. As I stated the other day, I think those “virtual workouts” are going to be a disaster yielding no real benefits.
As long as they don’t bail on the workout bonuses.
I’ve always felt that owners who do stupid and petty things like that only succeed in poisoning team morale and driving away potential free agents. I think the Saints are smart enough to avoid that mistake.
Come on man! Tom Benson bought the Saints in 1985. They sucked until Brees and Payton came along. Then those 2 had 3-4 years of 8-8 seasons. You know this. The Benson family is beyond cheap. The fans wore paper bags over their heads.
Relax JJ. The fans wore those bags in 1980 and Tom is in no position to withhold any bonuses since he is no longer among the living. This is a franchise that once offered player bounties, remember…so the accusation that they are beyond cheap isn’t completely accurate.
Read the article it said they will “ pay the bonus”
simply having each player send a video of their own workout is a better idea imo
It’s a fantastic idea if the videos were made available on You-tube. I imagine the wardrobe accouterments and props OBJ would use would be quite entertaining.