Saints Players Announce They Won't Attend Voluntary OTA Workouts

New Orleans Saints players announced through the NFLPA on Saturday that they will not be attending in-person voluntary offseason workouts:

The Saints are the 17th team to state that players will not be attending those workouts. The others are the Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, New York Giants, Las Vegas Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles Chargers, New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers.

All of the announcements have been made between Thursday and Saturday.

The 2021 offseason program is scheduled to start Monday and run through June 18. It's a three-phase program, and the only mandatory portion is a minicamp during the third phase.

Last year featured a virtual offseason (until training camp) due to COVID-19, with training camps starting in late summer. There were also no preseason games last year.

As for 2021, some of the teams vary in terms of how many players will refrain from voluntary offseason workouts.

For example, the Raiders said that some players would still be attending the workouts due to "contractual incentives," while the Falcons stated that "many" players would not be taking part.

However, the Saints stated the entire team is in solidarity and that no players will be attending the workouts.

New Orleans is coming off an NFC South title and 13-3 regular-season record. The Saints are entering a new era after the retirement of quarterback Drew Brees, who called signals for New Orleans from 2006 to 2020.