Bruce Arians shares why he is disappointed to lose offseason programs

The NFL last year lost key development periods during the offseason due to COVID-19. They appear set to repeat that this year, and Bruce Arians isn’t looking forward to it.

Arians spoke with reporters on Thursday to promote his Arians Family Foundation event on Friday. The 68-year-old coach says he finds the offseason programs key in developing young players. He is sad to lose that and believes it is older players voting in order to protect their jobs from younger players.

#GoBucs coach Bruce Arians says the NFL is losing out on a chance to develop young players without an offseason program. Says older players are the ones voting and they like it because it prevents a younger player from taking their job.

— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) February 18, 2021

There’s probably a lot to that. One of the Bucs’ veteran players said he wasn’t into the virtual workouts, though that didn’t hurt the team in the end. The more you’re around the game, around the coaches, and around competition, the better it is for younger players to develop. There is no doubt about that.