There has been a recent uproar regarding Kadarius Toney missing OTAs for the New York Giants this past week. If you are unaware what OTA stands for, it represents “organized team activities,” which are completely voluntary for all players but is a suggested attendance by the team, of course.
The team prefers to have their eyes on players, as reckless things that happened in the past, circa DeAndre Baker last off-season. However, the Giants feel confident in there current roster that they will make good decisions, as they vetted first-round pick Kadarius Toney significantly before picking him with the 20th overall selection.
Even the NFLPA suggested players don’t attend the organized workouts held by teams, but specifically for Toney’s case, it makes far more sense to skip out than attend.
Why the New York Giants and their fans shouldn’t be worried:
Consider this, during rookie camp, Toney strained his calf due to a lack of football activities, and with his contract yet to be signed, an injury could impact the guarantees he earns. Holding out and letting his agents figure out the guaranteed money is in his best interest, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that he’s missing voluntary workouts.
Consider this factor, Saquon Barkley didn’t sign his rookie contract until the day before training camp started in 2018, so Toney still has plenty of time left to get the deal done. If you want to look at it more extreme case, Joey Bosa missed all of training camp and signed in late August just before the season started, but ultimately stayed with the Chargers and played out his rookie season.
Don’t let this very frequent ordeal demoralize you regarding Kadarius and his influence this upcoming season. Toney will be a New York Giant one way or another, even if it takes a few extra weeks to get the deal done. Most of the Giants’ draft picks have already signed their rookie contracts, so I fully anticipate Kadarius to solidify his in the coming days.
By the time week one rolls around for the 2021 season, this will be a long lost narrative, and since the NFL is currently in a dead period, this news is far more prevalent than it should be.