After the NFL draft, there’s a lull in news and major activities until training camp begins, with smaller programs being placed in between, but nothing that requires players to put pads on. OTAs are one such program, with the last few sessions coming up soon, and they are voluntary. However, because it’s the first time the entire team can come together after the draft and free agency, most players show up. The Steelers are missing Cam Heyward due to his contract situation, but his isn’t the biggest absence in the NFL. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has missed all but one of Baltimore’s OTA sessions so far, one former Steelers receiver admonishing him for this decision.
Plaxico Burress played wide receiver for the Steelers from 2000 to 2004, and then again from 2012 to 2013, winning a Super Bowl with the Giants in between that time. Recently, on an episode of Fox Sports’ Up On Game that he co-hosts with T.J. Houshmandzadeh and LaVar Arrington, Burress explained why he has a problem with Jackson’s decision.
“I have so much respect for my quarterbacks that, when OTAs came around, when it was voluntary or mandatory, mandatory I was there, but voluntary,” Burress said. “I would pick up the phone and I would call Ben Roethlisberger, I would call Eli Manning, and ask them, ‘Hey man, are you going to OTAs?’ They’d be like, ‘Yeah.’ I’d be like, ‘Do you want me there?’ They’d say, ‘You don’t have to go, but I would want you to show up.’ So I would show up because they’re the franchise quarterback of your team and this is how you eat.”
The point Burress is making is that the franchise quarterback is the straw who stirs the drink. He’s the one who sets the tone for the entire team. He’s the leader whose example everyone else follows. Therefore, by skipping most of OTAs, he’s not getting better with the rest of his team. He’s not working with the new guys and getting a feel for the locker room or setting the pace for how hard everyone should work. Maybe the players and coaches don’t care, but Burress’ message still rings true.
You could say the same things about Heyward, a defensive captain and one of the Steelers’ leaders, but he has a reason for not being at OTAs. Jackson was just given a deal last year that made him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL. This is a decision Jackson has made to not be present. The Steelers have other players who have missed parts of OTAs, like T.J. Watt, but this gives younger guys on the depth chart a chance to gain more experience. If you have a young franchise quarterback, it doesn’t matter if any other quarterback on your team is getting time. If the franchise guy goes down, so does your team.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh doesn’t seem to be worried about Jackson’s absence, but when the season rolls around, this kind of extra work can matter. The Ravens were one game away from the Super Bowl last year, so to take a more hands-off approach to this season is questionable. Perhaps none of this will matter and the Ravens will be just as good as they were last year. For the Steelers, it just provides a chance to gain a tiny edge over their biggest rival, which they might need more of in order to survive their brutal schedule.
