The Pittsburgh Steelers wrapped up their final practice of the week on Wednesday and will not practice again until Monday. When I posted that earlier this morning, several wanted to know why an 0-4 team wouldn’t be practicing again this week.
It’s called a CBA, folks and below are the rules related to bye weeks.
Section 2. Bye Weeks: During any regular season bye week period occurring during the term of this Agreement, players will be given a minimum of four consecutive days off. Such four-day period must include a Saturday and a Sunday unless the Club is scheduled to play a game on the Thursday following the bye week, in which case players may be required to report to the Club on the Sunday preceding the Thursday game. In such an event, the four-day period shall be Wednesday through Saturday. Any injured player may be required to undergo medical or rehabilitation treatment during such four-day period provided that such treatment is deemed reasonably necessary by the Club’s medical staff.
The earliest the team can return to work is Monday and that is exactly what they will do. The bargaining agreement mandates the days off, so this isn’t a case of head coach Mike Tomlin running a country club.
