Baltimore Ravens' rookie defensive tackle Terrence Cody passed a conditioning test on his third try during training camp yesterday.

Cody, who has been nicknamed "Cheeseburger" by his teammates, is listed at 6'4" and 349 pounds. Cody has struggled with his weight in the past, showing up at the Senior Bowl weighing 370 pounds.

The conditioning test he failed is not some overly complicated battery of tests. According to Ravens' head coach John Harbaugh, the test is this: Run 25 yards up and back three times within a set period of time.  

The time is modified by position, so the faster, lighter players do not have an advantage over larger, slower players. The players do receive a break of 70 seconds between one interval.

The problem I have with this is how the Ravens and the NFL treat these conditioning tests like a joke. The test should be pass/fail. A professional athlete should come to camp in shape and ready to, at the very least, pass a simple test.  

We are told again and again that these players, in every position, are elite athletes. So why the disparity between what is said and what we can see by looking at the physique of a 350-plus pound lineman?

Giving players such as Cody this much leeway to pass a test such as this is dangerous. Sure he passed the test, but now he will be out there in the sun, practicing hard in 90-degree weather. Is Cody in the physical condition to do that day in and day out until the season begins?  

The stress that training camp puts on the body of someone like Cody may be why we see deaths from heat stroke. Korey Stringer (6'4", 335 lbs) was close to the same size as Cody when he died in 2001 during training camp from complications arising from heat stroke.  

The NFL and the NFLPA need to work together to protect players from themselves in matters of health. The players, for the most part, will not stop practicing or playing when they are tired or unhealthy.

Quitting is not part of their collective mindset.  

The league really needs to change the rules on this and force the teams and the players to come to camp in some type of good physical condition. Allowing a player to take a conditioning test until he passes is a dangerous proposition.

The NFL and its teams do not need to have another death on their hands due to careless handling of unhealthy players.

 

Note: The test as described by Harbaugh is incorrect.  The test is basically six 150-yard runs in a set time...a much more stressful test than originally reported.  However, this does not take away from the point of my piece, which concerns the ongoing health of the athlete.