The New York Giants, one of the teams entering the 2020 NFL season with a new head coach, were scheduled to begin their offseason program on April 6. That was scrapped, along with much of their normal daily routine, when the restrictions on travel and group gatherings were instituted by the government in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
With the NFL Draft coming up next Thursday, April 23, the league is introducing new guidelines regarding offseason workouts and meetings, per NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissaro.
The NFL and NFLPA have reached an agreement on a voluntary offseason program set to start April 20, Pelissero reported, per sources informed of the agreement. The virtual period of the program can begin next week, but no on-field work is allowed until all 32 club facilities can reopen.
Club facilities will only open in accordance with NFL protocols and federal, state and local rules and regulation, Pelissero added. Only if all 32 facilities can open will any of them open; otherwise, all will remain closed during the period.
The virtual period will consist of three consecutive weeks of classroom instruction, workouts and non-football educational programs using videoconferencing technology. An extra voluntary veteran camp will be available for new coaches, with the virtual period ending no later than May 15.
The Giants’ staff and players have been in communication and the preparation for the draft has been ramping up thanks to the efforts of the team’s IT department, who have linked the franchise together electronically.
“Despite what’s been going on, we have started our draft meetings. We’ve had minimal issues moving forward and right now we are on schedule with that,” said general manager Dave Gettleman on a conference call on Monday.
“We’ve done our best to mimic business as usual,” said assistant general manager Kevin Abrams. “Obviously, it’s not. But without going into details about what technologies we’re using, I don’t think our IT department would appreciate that, we’ve tried to mimic how our meetings typically operate, both for the coaches and for our scouting meetings right now. The fact that it’s all been virtual is obviously the biggest difference. But the dialogue, the conversation, the agenda, the itineraries for the meetings go as always. I don’t think we’ve missed a beat.”
The NFL Draft will be virtual even this year with everyone involved working remotely from their homes to adhere with the “stay at home” directive. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will actually be reading the first round selections from the basement of his home.
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