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Former Dallas Cowboys star Troy Aikman offered his own theory as to why there have been a spate of early-season injuries in the NFL over the last few years.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer said he believed the NFL’s rules to help players avoid injuries may actually be the cause of them.
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Troy Aikman arrives on the red carpet for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on Aug. 5, 2023. (Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports)
On Friday’s “Rodeo Time Podcast,” Aikman fondly remembered doing two-a-day practices in Wichita Falls, Texas, where the Cowboys would hold training camp in the summer. He suggested that while players aren’t as “taxed” as they were in the 1980s and 1990s during camps, they may not be as prepared for the toll their bodies take at the beginning of the season.
“I think they only wear pads one day a week or one time a day, and they have a walk-through, and then after, I don’t know how it all reads, but it’s pretty player friendly and favorable,” Aikman said. “And a lot of it, whenever they negotiate the CBA, the owners tend to always win on the financial side of things. And then the players say, ‘Well, all right, then we’re not gonna practice as long, or we’re not gonna practice as often.’ So, then they tend to get concessions when it comes to how much time they’re actually at facilities.
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Troy Aikman before game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium on Dec. 4, 2023. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA Today Sports)
“I think the only ones who don’t have a voice in those negotiations are the coaches. They kind of have to wait till the dust settles and say, ‘All right, just how often do we get them?’ But some of it is that we see, too, is a lot of the reasons I think that we see so many injuries, especially early in the year. A lot of soft tissue injuries, a lot of muscle pulls, and things of that nature is the players, they’re just not able to train the way that we once did, they’re not able to callous their bodies as easily. Not that they’re not training hard and all that, but it’s different training on your own as opposed to being on the football field practicing football movements.”
Aikman made clear he was a fan of making changes in the name of player safety, but worried they may do more harm than good for some.
Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow, Minnesota Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy, San Francisco 49ers’ Brock Purdy and Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson were among the quarterbacks to miss time early last season.
Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson warms up before a preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys, Aug. 16, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
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Player safety is set to be thrust back into the spotlight as the NFL reportedly eyes a Thanksgiving Eve game with the possibility of expanding to an 18-game schedule in the future.
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