The NFL had already been jumping through unexpected hoops when it came to free agency, forcing their teams and potential signees to agree upon independent doctors to conduct physicals due to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, that issue became even more complicated on Monday when Dr. Anthony Casolaro, president of the NFL Physicians Society and co-head physician for the Washington Redskins, informed the NFL and NFLPA that all NFL-related physicals would be halted due to COVID-19.
“The Board of Directors of the NFL Physicians Society (NFLPS) have met by phone and communicated with members of Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society (PFATS) that the NFLPS has agreed to discontinue Combine rechecks, free agent physicals and physicals for non-Combine players until the health crisis has passed,” Casolaro wrote. “We believe It is not in the interest of the players nor team medical staff to continue to perform these physicals.
“At a time of the most serious pandemic in our lifetime, we believe medical resources should focus on those who are ill or in need of care.
“We look forward to examining players when it is appropriate to do so.”
Although the NFL amended free agency rules last week, allowing teams to announce the signing of a player when all terms have been agreed upon and a physical contract has been sent to the player/agent, it has still been slow going for many organizations.
The New York Giants, for example, have been using media reports to announce contract agreements/signings, which is a practice they are likely to continue.
Meanwhile, all offseason workout programs have been postponed indefinitely and most NFL teams have closed the doors at their facilities entirely.
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