Brady Poppinga didn't exactly get away from football during his time off over the bye week.
But the Green Bay linebacker wasn't out tackling anyone. He was trying to tackle the world of football broadcasting instead.
Poppinga spent time last week at the NFL Films headquarters outside Philadelphia to tape a segment of the NFL Network show Playbook NFC, which aired last Friday evening.
As a guest analyst on the studio show hosted by Brian Baldinger and Sterling Sharpe, Poppinga was asked about Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and the Washington Redskins defense, among other topics. Diving into film study and playbook analysis was rather natural for the high-intensity, all-football-all-the-time Poppinga.
"You just talk football, and I do that my whole life," he said. "It's not anything different."
Poppinga got a kick out of seeing all the goings-on at the NFL Films headquarters. A player who is knowledgeable about the game and its history, Poppinga found plenty of conversations right up his alley.
"You're immersed into this football world that is pure football," he said. "You talk football, you eat football, you sleep football, you're with football legends. All you see is old football pictures, you hear football music, you see old archived football films. Nothing exists except football, and I was very comfortable in that setting, to say the least."
As for the show, Poppinga said he wasn't nervous, but was curious about how it all worked more than anything.
He enjoyed his broadcasting debut so much that he plans to apply for an offseason "boot camp" held in June at NFL Films, during which players looking to get involved in the media after their playing days can work on breaking down film and analyzing X's and O's.
"It's probably like what I did (last week) but times 10," he said. "I'm going to give it a shot."
If that goes well, he may have found his post-football career.
"I'd love to talk about football and give my opinions and knowledge about football and my insight on football," he said. "I think it would be great.
"You still get to be immersed in the game of football, a game I love. It's fun to be able to talk about it, analyze it, and just be a part of it. The media end of it is a fun part of football."
