We regretfully interrupt this typically joyful moment of time on the NFL calendar, as teams file back into their buildings for training camps, to ask a difficult question that may have been lingering in the back of our collective minds, one we did our best to keep dormant until now.
The following is not a political endorsement or ideological finger-pointing. We are not rehashing the previous term or delving into issues of morality. There will be plenty of time and space for that later.
Instead, this is a question of preparedness, of fitness. It’s a question for coaches and general managers and player agents and—overwhelmingly—team owners.