VIDEO: Matthew Stafford works out with teammates against NFLPA recommendation

With Allen Park still closed for football activities, Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has spent much of the offseason working out with his teammates on his own. We’ve seen him throw balls to rookies Quintez Cephus and D’Andre Swift down in Georgia. Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell mentioned that he’d get a chance to throw to T.J. Hockenson sometime soon.

The latest example came on Thursday, when Kelly Stafford posted to her Instagram story a picture of Jamal Agnew, Jesse James and Nick Bawden with the caption:

“It just feels good to be sitting my butt on a football field and watching.. couldn’t imagine how good it feels for these guys.”

Though Matthew Stafford was not pictured in the photo, the Lions’ official Twitter account later tweeted a video of Stafford connecting with one of the Lions’ receivers at the same location as Kelly’s tweet:

This comes just a week after the NFL Players Association recommended against players working out together in private situations.

“Please be advised that it is our consensus medical opinion that in light of the increase in COVID-19 cases in certain states that no players should be engaged in practicing together in private workouts,” NFLPA medical director Dr. Thom Mayer wrote in a statement last Saturday. “Our goal is to have all players and your families as healthy as possible in the coming months.

“We are working on the best mitigation procedures at team facilities for both training camps and the upcoming season, and believe that it is in the best interest of all players that we advise against any voluntary joint practices before training camp commences.”

Stafford and company face no potential penalty or discipline, as this is simply just a recommendation from the league, not an official rule put into place. Still, it is a bit interesting to see this group of players specifically go against recommendation and the team openly promoting it. Though these players are far from the only ones in the NFL ignoring said recommendation.

As a fan, it’s hard to parse how you should feel. On one hand, you love seeing these players take the initiative to stay in football shape and continue to develop chemistry with each other. Plus, it’s just is nice to see Stafford throwing again. Then again, them taking unnecessary risks that could potentially result in contracting the coronavirus is not something that should be taken lightly, especially when medical professionals are specifically asking players to not do it.

Hopefully, all turns out well.