NFL owners and the NFL Players Association won't meet for negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement for about another five years, but Ravens Owner Steve Bisciotti already knows the item at the top of his priority list.
After many conversations with Head Coach John Harbaugh, Biscoitti wants more access to his players during the early parts of the offseason.
Without specifics, Bisciotti is aiming for two two-day meetings around mid-February or mid-March, giving the players a chance to reengage with the team and get some life counseling that goes well beyond football.
"It's kind of the effect that your summer reading had on you," Bisciotti said at last week's NFL owners meetings. "Just picking up that book kind of reminded you, 'Oh boy, I'm a month away from starting this over again.'"
Bisciotti spoke about the initiative days after the passing of former Ravens cornerback Tray Walker due to a motorbike accident. Walker was planning to come back to Baltimore to continue his offseason training, but put it off because he was making good progress in his hometown of Miami.
It was not far from there that Walker collided with the SUV that ended his life. Walker wasn't wearing a helmet, had no headlight on the motorbike and was wearing dark clothing.
After a turbulent upbringing, Walker was trying to make a better life for himself and his family in the NFL. He was on his way to realizing his dreams.
Bisciotti doesn't know whether a couple two-day team-sponsored seminars during the offseason would change the course of such tragedies. But it could. Many NFL players come from difficult backgrounds, and the guidance they get while with the team helps them grow as men and make better decisions.
"Would it change that? I don't know," Bisciotti said. "But, for God's sake, out of sight, out of mind. The owners hear the complaints from the coaches and we know it's in their best interests."
The Ravens owner said the program he envisions wouldn't include any film study. It's about helping them grow as young men.
"There's so much we could be teaching these young guys and getting specialists in," Bisciotti said. "Businessmen in Baltimore would love to come in. We could set them up with some of the brightest men in Baltimore and give these guys good advice."
Harbaugh is on board and he's also talked to other NFL coaches, including Miami Dolphins Head Coach Adam Gase, about the idea of pushing for younger players to be allowed to engage with the team during the offseason.
Players are allowed to come and go during the offseason, but there are strict rules restricting their interaction with coaches. There can be nothing more than a casual conversation while they are in the building, and there is no coaching or work in the weight room allowed.
Harbaugh estimated that about 10 to 15 Ravens players are around the Under Armour Performance Center during this early part of the offseason when they're not required to be for Organized Team Activities (OTAs) or the strength and conditioning program.
Most of them are older veterans and family guys who have bought houses nearby and don't want to uproot their family during the several months in between work.
In addition to the life skills that Harbaugh said could be imparted, Harbaugh envisions a broader reach that also allows younger players to hone their craft with the team as opposed to having to pay outside trainers.
Harbaugh said his program would still be voluntary, and wouldn't include veterans who may already have proven offseason programs.
"Just the young guys. Just the second and third-year guys that are still making their transition in life," Harbaugh said. "It seems to me like a real simple step that we can all take together."
The issue is that few matters when it comes to offseason work are simple when it comes to negotiations between the Players' Association and owners. Harbaugh doesn't see why it needs to be that way though.
"[Do it in] the spirit of what's best for the young guys. Just figure it out," Harbaugh said. "I go back to Jeff Saturday who helped put these rules together. He's very reasonable. I'm sure Eric Winston would be very reasonable and understand what's best for these young guys. They've been in locker rooms with these guys for all these years."
Bisciotti, however, thinks it will take the owners giving up something to get more access to young players in the offseason.
"I understand why the union does what they do, but they're not pleased with the whole CBA and neither are we, and that's usually the way collectively bargained things work," he said.
"I'm hoping that there's something that we can give them to get that. That would be what I would put as my priority of getting from the union is the permission to get our hands on these kids a little more often in the offseason."
