NFLPA pres. Eric Winston says 18-game schedule is ‘dead in the water’

Winston is looking out first for the safety of the players, making an extended schedule a non-starter.

Mar 20, 2014, 1:16 PM UTC

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Offensive lineman Eric Winston is the newest National Football League Players Association president, voted in earlier this week to man the position.

Winston, an eight-year veteran who has played with the Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs and Arizona Cardinals, is hoping to make positive changes in the workplace for his peers while continuing to play the game he loves. However, he only wants to play 16 games per year, and won't consider anything further, according to USA Today Sports' Tom Pelissero.

“I can tell you 16 to 18’s dead in the water. I won’t let it happen. I don’t think any of these other guys are going to let it happen. It’s a safety issue.”

For years, the idea of expanding the regular season has come up in myriad ways. Some have suggested adding another bye week for each team, along with expanding the roster to help franchises handle injuries. Still, the players have mostly been against putting another two games on the slate for fear of future damage to their bodies.

The league has extended the regular season before, going from 12 to 14 games in 1961 before becoming the 16-game schedule we know today in 1978. During the 1990’s, the NFL toyed with two bye weeks per team, but the experiment only lasted for the 1993 season.

With the labor agreement covering the next seven years, the league seems to have solid peace within the ranks. However, Winston says he views that time as getting ready for a fight when the CBA runs out, per the story.

“Of course, because if we weren’t, we’d just be accepting the status quo. That’s the one thing I don’t think I’m going to stand for, and these guys on the EC aren’t interested in that, because if they were, they wouldn’t be doing this. They ran for their spots and I ran for my spot to effect some change. This union has always been about fighting. It won’t change.”

Winston also says he is in the camp of wanting to see a test for Human Growth Hormone. Yet, none has been implemented since the current CBA was inked in August 2011.

“You talk to any player around the league – we want a comprehensive HGH policy in place. But I think now it’s up to Commissioner (Roger) Goodell. We’ve done all we’re going to do as far as I’m concerned about it. It’s his bill to sign. If he wants to put it in place, then he can put it in place. If he’s going to continue to hold it on his desk, then he’s going to do that. But as far as I’m concerned, we’ve gone as far as we should go with this. We’re not going any further, and I think now, the choice is his, whether he wants to make HGH testing happen in the NFL or not.”

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