Former Dallas Cowboys star Troy Aikman offered his own theory as to why there have been a spate of early-season injuries in the NFL over the last few years.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer said he believed the NFL’s rules to help players avoid injuries may actually be the cause of them.

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On Friday’s “Rodeo Time Podcast,” Aikman fondly remembered doing two-a-day practices in Wichita Falls, Texas, where the Cowboys would hold training camp in the summer. He suggested that while players aren’t as “taxed” as they were in the 1980s and 1990s during camps, they may not be as prepared for the toll their bodies take at the beginning of the season.

“I think they only wear pads one day a week or one time a day, and they have a walk-through, and then after, I don’t know how it all reads, but it’s pretty player friendly and favorable,” Aikman said. “And a lot of it, whenever they negotiate the CBA, the owners tend to always win on the financial side of things. And then the players say, ‘Well, all right, then we’re not gonna practice as long, or we’re not gonna practice as often.’ So, then they tend to get concessions when it comes to how much time they’re actually at facilities.

SUPER BOWL CHAMPION BRYCE HUFF RETIRES FROM NFL AT 27

Troy Aikman before game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium on Dec. 4, 2023. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA Today Sports)

“I think the only ones who don’t have a voice in those negotiations are the coaches. They kind of have to wait till the dust settles and say, ‘All right, just how often do we get them?’ But some of it is that we see, too, is a lot of the reasons I think that we see so many injuries, especially early in the year. A lot of soft tissue injuries, a lot of muscle pulls, and things of that nature is the players, they’re just not able to train the way that we once did, they’re not able to callous their bodies as easily. Not that they’re not training hard and all that, but it’s different training on your own as opposed to being on the football field practicing football movements.”

Aikman made clear he was a fan of making changes in the name of player safety, but worried they may do more harm than good for some.

Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow, Minnesota Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy, San Francisco 49ers’ Brock Purdy and Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson were among the quarterbacks to miss time early last season.

Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson warms up before a preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys, Aug. 16, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

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Player safety is set to be thrust back into the spotlight as the NFL reportedly eyes a Thanksgiving Eve game with the possibility of expanding to an 18-game schedule in the future.

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MELBOURNE, Australia — Another three members of the Iran’s women’s soccer team who accepted refugee visas to stay in Australia have decided to return to their homeland, an Australian government minister said on Sunday.

The departure leaves three of an initial seven squad members in Australia.

“Overnight, three members of the Iranian Women’s Football Team made the decision to join the rest of the team on their journey back to Iran,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement.

“After telling Australian officials they had made this decision, the players were given repeated chances to talk about their options,” Burke added.

Iran’s team arrived in Australia for the Women’s Asian Cup last month, before the war in the Middle East began on Feb. 28.

Initially, six players and a support staff member from a squad list of 26 players accepted humanitarian visas to stay in Australia before the rest of the Iranian contingent flew from Sydney to Malaysia on March 9.

Another later changed her mind and left Australia. Three left Sydney for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Saturday night, a government official said. The rest of the team has remained in Kuala Lumpur since they left Australia.

Iran’s Tasnim News Agency said the latest three to leave Australia were two players and the support staff member. The three were “returning to the warm embrace of their family and homeland,” the news outlet said in a statement.

Concerns about the team’s safety in Iran heightened when the players didn’t sing the Iranian national anthem before their first match.

The Australian government was urged to help the woman by Iranian groups in Australia and by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Iranian news agency described the women’s return to the team as the “disgraceful failure of the American-Australian project and another failure for Trump.”

The US and Israel’s conflict with Iran has led to sporting events being postponed in the region, while competitions elsewhere have been hit by travel disruption, with thousands of flights cancelled in some of the world’s busiest transit hubs.

Bahrain, Saudi F1 races cancelled, Qatar MotoGP postponed 

Formula One’s Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix will not take place in April due to the conflict in the Middle East, the sport announced on Saturday.

Meanwhile, MotoGP’s Qatar Grand Prix scheduled for next month has been postponed to November, with the dates for the Portuguese Grand Prix and the season finale in Valencia also changed as a result.

Spain Vs Argentina ‘finalissima’ match cancelled

The ‘Finalissima’ match between European champions Spain and Copa America winners Argentina that was scheduled to be held in Qatar later this month has been cancelled.

Trump says inappropriate for Iran to be at World Cup

US President Donald Trump said on March 12 that Iran’s soccer team were welcome to take part in this year’s World Cup but that he believed it was not appropriate they be there “for their own life and safety”.

Iran have qualified for the 48-team tournament to be held in the US, Canada and Mexico from June 11 and are scheduled to play two group matches in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.

Athletes’ arrivals at Paralympic Games disrupted 

Several athletes were unable to travel to the Milano Cortina Winter Paralympic Games due to travel disruption at several Middle Eastern airports.

Moreover, Iran are not competing at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, the International Paralympic Committee announced on March 6.

Tennis in UAE halted due to security alert

The ATP Challenger event in Fujairah was cancelled on March 3 due to safety concerns after a security alert halted play. The ATP Tour said a charter flight had been arranged “at no cost to players”.

Russians Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, who participated in the Dubai Tennis Championships, were among the players who faced difficulties before travelling to California for the Indian Wells Open.

Sindhu withdraws from Badminton’s all England open

Two-times Olympic medallist PV Sindhu withdrew from the All England Open after being stranded for days at the Dubai airport. She returned to India on March 3.

US withdraws from hockey World Cup qualifier

The US men’s hockey team withdrew from a hockey World Cup 2026 qualifier in Ismailia, Egypt after an official advisory from the State Department urging all US citizens to leave nations within or close to conflict zones.

Asian Champions League Matches postponed

Round of 16 clashes featuring Middle Eastern clubs in the Asian Champions League Elite in the first two weeks of March have been postponed.

Quarter-final clashes in the Asian Champions League Two and the Asian Challenge League, featuring clubs from the region, are also postponed, AFC, the continental soccer body, said on Wednesday.

Iranian female footballers given asylum

Australia granted humanitarian visas to five Iranian women soccer players on March 10 after they sought asylum, fearing persecution on their return home for their refusal to sing the national anthem at an Asian Cup match.

Australian police helped two more members of the Iranian women’s soccer delegation claim asylum on March 11, but one changed her mind and decided to go back to Iran.

Concerns about the players’ safety upon their return home grew after Iranian state television labelled the team “wartime traitors”.

Iraq coach calls for World Cup playoff game to be postponed

Iraq soccer coach Graham Arnold called for the team’s inter-confederation World Cup playoff in Mexico in March to be postponed amidst the travel chaos triggered by the conflict in neighbouring Iran.

The Iraqis are concerned they might not be able to get their players and staff over to Mexico for their scheduled clash with either Bolivia or Suriname in Monterrey on March 31.

Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka series postponed

The limited-overs series between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka scheduled for March in the United Arab Emirates has been postponed due to the crisis in the Middle East, the Afghanistan Cricket Board announced on March 11.

WEC postpones season opener in Qatar

The World Endurance Championship postponed its season-opening race, originally scheduled for March 28 at the Lusail circuit in Qatar.

Organisers announced new dates, with the race now set to take place between October 22 and 24.

Sports events cancelled in Iran, soccer resumes in Qatar

All sporting events in Iran have been cancelled until further notice, including the country’s top-flight Persian Gulf Pro League. The Bahraini FA has also halted all domestic competitions.

Qatar’s top-flight football league resumed on March 12 after a nationwide suspension of sporting activity imposed amid regional security concerns, the Qatar Stars League Foundation said.

Mancini unable to return to Qatar

Al Sadd coach Roberto Mancini was not present for Friday’s Qatar Stars League match against Umm Salal as he was unable to return to Doha.