Over the last couple of decades, the safety and health of NFL players has become one of the top priorities for the NFL Players Association. The body has made several rule changes, but perhaps even more impactful have been the updates and restrictions on how teams practice. And Jon Gruden is not a fan of it.
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The former NFL coach and current Barstool Sports personality went on a hilarious rant this week about the state of the league, pointing to injuries and how they may be caused by a lack of reps in practice.
The NFLPA has instituted rules that heavily limit how much or how long coaches can drill their players during a practice. There are also strict limits on how often teams can practice in pads. Gruden seemed to draw a direct line from the rise in injuries across the league to these regulations. And he’s “pissed.”
“I’m just pissed off. That’s my hot take. I’m tired of all these injuries. We’re talking about the fourth game of the season. And the injuries at quarterback, wide receiver, tight end, running back, corners. All these players are not playing,” Gruden said.
“Nobody plays and nobody PRACTICES! And then when you don’t practice, you can’t play good. You can’t practice in pads either, because of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA). So you don’t practice, and when you do practice, you can’t practice in pads,” he added.
According to the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA), teams are only allowed to start having padded practices at training camp after a five-day acclimation period. Then, they are allowed just 16 padded practices during the span of training camp, and none of them can be longer than 2.5 hours.
Gruden certainly sounded like he had experience butting heads with those CBA limitations while still a head coach in the league.
“And then they don’t let you long enough, because if you practice two hours, you could be fired with cause! But SOME OF THESE TEAMS, gotta to get out in practice. It pisses me off! Because when you don’t practice, and you don’t play, you can’t run block, you can’t pass block. And you saw last week, we can’t even block for a field goal! How many field goals got blocked?” Gruden continued.
The CBA’s rules on padded practices get even more restrictive during the regular season. Teams are limited to 14 padded practices, most of which are used in the first 11 weeks. They also cannot hold three consecutive padded sessions. All the more reason Gruden kept blasting away.
“So get these MRI machines out of the freaking place. Get outta the training room! Get out on the practice field guys! We got too many guys hurt, it’s ridiculous. If you listed the names of the players out already, it’s unprecedented the amount of injuries. And you gotta find the cause of this.”
Jon Gruden is PISSED OFF!! https://t.co/Pf9ppXB40i pic.twitter.com/3n8ZEoouDg
— Viva La Stool (@VivaLaStool) September 27, 2025
We’re not sure there have been more injuries this season than in any past campaign, but there have certainly been some major players going down. Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow suffered a turf toe so severe that it required surgery, which is the first that comes to mind.
Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy (high-ankle sprain), 49ers edge Nick Bosa (torn ACL), Buccaneers WR Mike Evans (hamstring), and Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb (high-ankle sprain) are among the other big names sidelined with significant injuries through the first three weeks of 2025.
