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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Robert Zeglinski

5 NFL players who are in the ‘best shape of their lives’ heading into 2023 training camps

If Bill Belichick training camp quotes are the NFL’s Groundhog Day, then hearing seemingly every player is in the “best shape of their lives” is like the leaves outside unofficially turning orange.

Most NFL training camps begin this week. They are an earnest grind toward the regular season designed to test elite football players’ mental and physical limits and bring them closer together before all of the action counts in the standings. Of course, after a long offseason, someone almost always professes they feel better than ever. They lost weight. They gained weight. They got stronger. They did something, anything, no one expected them to.

By basic logic, this is simply impossible. Not everyone can be in the “best shape of their lives.” And even if they actually are healthier and better, it’s a rote cliche that ultimately means nothing when it’s not between the lines of a meaningful game. It’s summer optimism in the form of a short update. It’s just something NFL players and coaches say this time of year.

Nothing more.

Here’s a running list of all the NFL players who are apparently in the best shape of their lives as 2023 training camps open.

1
TE Hayden Hurst, Carolina Panthers

The Panthers are the fifth team of Hurst’s career. He knows better than to say he feels like he’s in terrible shape going into camp.

2
DT Alim McNeill, Detroit Lions

I’m not denying that an athletic human being who weighs over 300 pounds improves when they slim down. But this is general offensive line fodder.

3
OT Darnell Wright, Chicago Bears

Oh, he “crushed” the conditioning test? You mean the thing he has to pass to do his job? Hmm. Interesting.

4
WR Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers

It looks like the former First-Team All-Pro is ripped … which isn’t really any different from previous seasons.

5
QB Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers

I’m not sure how one makes their throwing arm stronger. That’s kind of an intrinsic talent, no?

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