The Broncos players informed the team Tuesday that they would not be participating in any in person workouts this off-season. Organized Team Activities (OTAs) typically begin in late April, for a couple of days nearly every week and are almost always concluded with a "Mandatory" 3-Day Mini-Camp before teams break for about 6 weeks until Training Camp Begins.
Broncos Players released this statement via the NFL Player's Association:
Monday night a number of Broncos players participated in a Zoom call to discuss their concerns, chief among them was the extra time they would have to commit to for Covid-19 Testing, and as player rep, Brandon McManus said via twitter there are "No protocols in place. In order to get in on Monday. How can we test 65 players, meet, lift in a CBA agreed upon 4hr window? Do players have to come in on Sunday to test. Wouldn’t that make it mandatory and not voluntary anymore?"
The call lasted over 3 hours and included members of the NFLPA's Executive Staff. As one player told me in regards to the number of players, and there have been more than 20 who workout regularly at the UC Health Training Center, "it's a little different to be in there at different times of the day with 3 or 4 guys, as opposed to 90 in the building all at once."
While this decision by the Broncos players appears to be a consensus, it does not seem to be unanimous, at least when you see the tweet from linebacker Alexander Johnson:
A few minutes after posting the previous tweet, Johnson clarified that he's on the same page with his teammates:
Shortly following the Broncos statement from the players, The Seattle Seahawks released a statement via the NFLPA saying they would not participate in OTAs this off-season either. It feels inevitable, that most if not all teams will follow the Broncos lead on this.