Orlando Franklin: A look inside the week-long grind of an NFL player

Denver Broncos offensive lineman

Orlando Franklin is giving Yahoo Canada Sports an exclusive first-person account of life in the NFL. Franklin grew up in Toronto before playing at the University of Miami and was drafted by the Broncos in the second round in 2011.

A lot of people don’t think being a professional athlete is a “job” but it really is. It’s a grind. Every week is full of a lot of work, with long days. Before we even step on to the field for a game on Sunday, we’ve put in a lot of hours of work during the week – on and off the practice field.

It’s not like a lot of normal jobs. There’s no such thing as being five minutes late in the NFL. If you’re five minutes late you’re going to get fined. I don’t know what the fine amount is, because I’ve never been late, but it’s a lot.

When you add in travel and everything else, it can make for long, hectic weeks. After our game on Sunday, if we’re on the road, we fly right back – doesn’t matter how far away, we go straight from the stadium to the airport. It doesn’t matter how late we land, the next day we have workouts at 11am in Denver. It’s a team workout that goes from about 11am till noon. Coach Fox will talk to us then we start meetings and grading film. At around 2 p.m. we have offence and defence meetings. Sometimes we’ll meet as an entire offence or we’ll break up – offensive line goes into one room, tight ends into their room, etc. After film we’re done for the day around 3:30.

On Tuesdays we’re off – that’s our one day off for the week. Unless you’re hurt, you don’t have to go in. For me, my day off typically means a lot of rehab. I’ll get a massage at 10am, then get stretched out at 12, then I do my radio show at 1pm.

Wednesday is our hardest day of the week. I get there around 7:15 a.m. and my first meeting is at 8. After a team meeting we do offence and defence meetings until about 10:30. Then we’re on the field at 11 and we have practice. After practice we lift weights then have a break for lunch and it’s back into meetings for the rest of the day.

The hardest part of our week, by far, is full-pads practices on Wednesday. Everybody hates it but we all know that we need to do it. Wednesday is just a grind, you’re gonna be in full pads for the whole day. You’re gonna take a lot of reps, and we just all hate it. It’s a physical day, it’s like playing another game in the middle of the week.

Thursday is almost the same, we practice again but not in full pads. It’s a little bit easier of a day and you don’t have to workout. But everything else is the same and we’re there just as long, about 11 hours.

Friday is more of a mental day, or a tune-up day – making sure you know what’s going, what you gotta do. We usually go in and our first meeting is at about 7:30. Friday’s we have a quick practice, but we’re not really on the field that long.

The entire 53-man roster stays at a hotel on Saturday night before a game – even for a home game. Before that, we watch practice from Friday and we get on the field but take minimal reps. It’s a crisp walk-through tempo – it’s not really a walkthrough, it’s more of a jog-through. If it’s a home game you get to go home for a couple hours then we have to be at the hotel by 7pm that night. But if we’re playing away that week then we get dressed and head to the airport to get on the plane. We have night meetings at the hotel then have an 11pm curfew.

It makes for a long week and requires a lot of work and focus but you have to be prepared every time you step on the field.

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More from Orlando Franklin:

-How football led me down the right path, and to protecting Peyton Manning

-Giving thanks to the mentors who helped me get where I am today

-On being part of history, and what it takes to win big games

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