National Football League

New NFLPA president 'won't let' an 18-game season happen

Published Mar. 20, 2014 11:28 a.m. ET

Sid Saraf

Eric Winston means business.

The longtime NFL offensive lineman and recently elected president of the NFL Players Association is ready to butt heads with the NFL.

"This union has always been about fighting," Winston told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. "It won't change."

And fight Winston will. The first thing he wants to kill? The NFL's plan for an 18-game regular season.

Dead in the water, eh? Winston definitely isn't messing around here. He's a man who has always been willing to share his thoughts over the years and it's evident that he's not going to back down now. And what's more, he seems very determined in his approach to his new job.

"I've got to leave this union better than I found it. I think the players of the National Football League have always held that credo -- they're going to leave the locker room better than they found it, they're going to leave the game better than they found it. I think it's on me now to leave this union better than I found it, and I've got to find ways to do that."

Bravo, sir!