The strangest year in everyone’s life has incorporated everything and everyone. The NFL is no exception to the coronavirus pandemic, and now there is word the league’s 32 teams and its players have come to terms on a three-week virtual offseason.
Charles Robinson of Yahoo! has the scoopage:
2. The NFL's offseason will remain virtual as long as all 50 states are under some kind of lockdown. This means NFL franchises cannot resume in-house work, OTAs or any form of camps until all 50 states have removed lockdown restrictions. This includes states without NFL teams.
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) April 13, 2020
Tom Pelissero added more information:
The NFLPA executive committee and board of representatives both voted today to approve the offseason plan, which has been under discussion between the union and the NFL Management Council for weeks.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 13, 2020
If club facilities do not reopen during the offseason workout program, clubs may conduct a mandatory veteran minicamp on a virtual basis, with limits: 2 hours of classroom time, 2 hours of workout time.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 13, 2020
Teams are permitted to send players workout equipment and monitoring devices — e.g. kettlebells, resistance bands, Apple watches, etc. — provided the cost for any individual player doesn't exceed $1,500.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 13, 2020
And, another precinct weighs in with more information:
So here's the offseason timeline, per the agreement (thread) …
4/20: Teams with new HCs can start the "virtual period" for 3 straight weeks, with a "virtual minicamp" to make a total of 4 weeks.
4/20 or 4/27: All other clubs can begin virtual period for 3 consecutive weeks.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 13, 2020
More on the NFL/NFLPA deal …
• Phase I (starting 4/20) will be voluntary virtual classroom work only.
• Phase II (starting 5/18) can include virtual workouts.
• No team can open a facility until every state with a team lifts stay-at-home orders.
• Bonus triggers = TBD.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 13, 2020
5/18: Second phase starts, and on-field workouts can begin (depending on conditions).
6/26: All offseason workout programs end for all clubs.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 13, 2020
Rules for the virtual minicamps (all teams can have one 3-day mandatory minicamp, teams with new coaches get a second, voluntary camp) …
• Online classroom work limited to 2 hours/day.
• Virtual workouts limited to 2 hours/day.
• Can be at anytime in the allowable periods.— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 13, 2020