The contrast was curious.
After Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon after four games at his home with a team competing on an artificial surface, NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell released a statement.
“Moving all stadium fields to high-quality natural grass surfaces is the simplest decision the NFL can make,” Howell said in a statement the day after Rodgers’ injury. “Players overwhelmingly prefer this option and the data is clear.”
Howell had only been on the NFLPA job for three months, and the message he sent seemed strong: He wasn’t afraid to speak up for his players.
Howell wasn’t afraid to call the league to account on a workplace issue for its members, even though the season was only a week old, and even on an issue for which the league cited different data findings than the union.
But seven months later, Howell’s approach changed when his main contact publicly discussed a change from the league’s collectively negotiated schedule.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell joins “The Pat McAfee Show” during NFL Draft weekend and advocated for a change in the NFL schedule from three preseason games and 17 regular-season games to two preseason games and 18 regular-season games. The NFL expanded its schedule from 16 to 17 just three seasons ago.
“It’s just a quality thing, right?” Goodell said. “If we get to 18 and 2, it’s not an unreasonable decision.”
Howell and newly elected president Jalen Reeves-Maybin, a Detroit Lions linebacker, said nothing at the time.
For what?
As we get to know Howell better, we realize that his silence does not always mean agreement.
At times, the silence of the NFLPA’s fourth executive director is strategic, even if it departs from the style of his predecessors.
“I’m looking for what’s the win-win situation,” Howell told Yahoo Sports in a recent interview. “I recognize there’s going to be disagreements along the way and we’ll work through them, but it can’t just be a food fight every time.”
“We have to act in the best interests of our members, and then in the best interests of the owners.”
How will Howell determine this best interest?
The longtime consultant and business executive believes in relying on data, something the players’ association created just before Howell arrived. The survey process that fed the NFLPA’s much-discussed report cards has already informed not only team executives about players’ perceptions of working conditions, but also the union about what battles to fight first and how.
As the NFLPA figures out how to address the league’s clear preference for an 18th regular-season game, the report cards and the ethics they represent will guide the discussions. Howell and Reeves-Maybin have no intention of waiting six years, until the collective bargaining agreement expires, to move forward.
I’m looking to find out, “What’s the win-win?” I recognize that there will be disagreements along the way and we’ll get through it, but it can’t be…