Why an 'eerie feeling' weighs over NFL teams as training camp ends | Ekeler’s Edge
Yahoo Fantasy analyst Matt Harmon is joined by Los Angeles Chargers star Austin Ekeler to give an inside look at what it's like as team rosters are cut down to 53 players. Hear the full episode of Ekeler’s Edge on Yahoo Fantasy Football Show — and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
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MATT HARMON: All right, Austin, since we're teaming up with Toyota Racing for the month of August, we wanted to go under the hood of training camp and dive into what it takes to get ready for the NFL season. This is a big week in the NFL. It is the week that the 53-man rosters come together. While it's a joyous time for some, it can be a very stressful time for so many players across the league. So, Austin, what is it like this week for NFL players?
AUSTIN EKELER: Yeah, this week is-- it's different. It's really different. And why I say that is because it depends on, really, your situation. I want to start out with my story of my rookie year-- just finishing the last preseason game, had a pretty good training camp, and then also had a pretty good last preseason game.
But for me, I never moved up the depth chart on anything. I was sixth string at the running back position, and then I was also, like, third string on special teams. So in my mind, I'm like, well, this is probably it. I don't know, really have no idea. There's no indication of, yeah, you're good. Yeah, you're not.
Especially as an undrafted player, they have no capital invested in me. I come into the building and get a workout. And there's guys getting picked off all over the place. We call them "the reapers," which is like the scouts that are coming down and finding people, either getting you from the hotel room, coming, hey, bring your-- come-- you need to come with me. Bring your iPad-- or picking you out of the weight room. And so it's honestly kind of, like, eerie. It's like an eerie feel in the building because it's just like, ah, like, you know what's happening.
In my instance, there was a time cutoff when the final cuts had to be made. Like an hour and a half before the cutoff, I get a call. And it's our player director. And he's like, hey, man, if you haven't gotten a call by now, you probably made the team. And I was just like-- it was just like this huge relief, like, oh, my god. And he's like, yeah, start looking for an apartment.
And so I had like two days to get an apartment. So I immediately get off the phone with him. I'm calling my mom. I'm calling my agent. I'm crying. They're crying. Because it's like, Mom, I made it, like I made the team. It was such a long shot for me to make it.
And so that was a story with a happy ending. But for some of these guys, it's not necessarily that way. It's the opposite, you know, where you get the call. You have to come in, and then you have to have the conversation about getting cut.
So there's a lot of different emotions that are going on. And there's people moving around. There's people getting cut. There's people getting signed. After the dust settles, that's your squad. And then, guess what? This is who we got for the rest of the season going forward, and it's all up from there, hopefully.
MATT HARMON: Like, this isn't the exact same example, but Trey Lance just got traded. He's getting maybe a fresh start in Dallas. I mean, he's not going to starter for them. They have an established starter. But new situations and new fits certainly, I would think, could be better for some players in the long term.
AUSTIN EKELER: One thing that, really, people don't really understand, on the outside of our locker rooms is the politics within the locker rooms and the coaching staff and, like, who trusts who.
MATT HARMON: Yeah.
AUSTIN EKELER: Trust is a huge thing in the NFL world. If you look at coaching staffs alone, if you have a new head coach, guess who they're bringing? All of their guys that they trust are coming with them. And it's the same thing, and it plays itself out within the players too. If you have a guy who knows, hey, I can trust Austin on the field. He does the right things. He's in the right spot. He makes the right plays. Guess what? I'm probably going to get more playing time than a guy that maybe even has a little bit more talent.
If you put any hint of distrust in the coaching, in our coaches, it's not good for you. And so sometimes you need to reset and then potentially get a new opportunity to show what you can do on a different team. So, yeah, there definitely could be some benefit. That's just one benefit that can come from it. But that's one that maybe isn't as obvious.
MATT HARMON: No, I mean, listen. It makes a ton of sense. And we love that perspective on the show. Thanks for going under the hood with us, Austin. And thanks again to our friends at Toyota Racing.
