Falcons coach Arthur Smith is fine with the players opting out of the voluntary offseason program.
The Falcons voted, not unanimously, to opt out of the ‘voluntary’ offseason program on April 16.
“There’s a lot noise made about the offseason program, but it hasn’t really changed since the CBA in 2011,” Smith said. “Now, you add virtual and we all adapted to the virtual learning last year. It’s always going to be some kind of virtual (program) now.”
Under previous coach Dan Quinn, the offseason program was stressed even though it was supposedly voluntary. For three straight seasons from 2016 to 2019, the Falcons had a “Camp Brotherhood” gathering for players-only camps in various locations.
Last season, through the coronavirus pandemic some players still got together for workouts.
“Right now, we are working still through a pandemic, so you knew it was going to be virtual settings,” Smith said. “That’s what the reality is and we have to make the most of it. It doesn’t affect any decisions being made. You’ve got to be objective about the spring ... it’s a voluntary process. If guys want to come in here and work, they allow us to go on the field and coach them at some point, we’ll go out there and coach the guys that are here.”
Smith insisted that he’s not looking for the King of the Spring.
“You don’t want to overreact and say it was a non-pandemic year and they are out on the field in the spring,” Smith said. “We are not looking for the King of Spring. We are looking for guys that are going to be here and be good football players in late July and August and help us win in the fall.”
AJC’S POSITION-BY-POSITION NFL DRAFT SERIES
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RUNNING BACKS: Plenty of prospects to pick from | Top 10 RBs
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CORNERBACKS: Plethora of options for first two rounds | Top 10 CBs
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