Frank Reich gives an update on the offseason workouts.
During a normal offseason, the Indianapolis Colts would be well into their offseason training program. The rookies would begin adjusting to life in the NFL for the first time while the team works on the field and in the classroom to prepare for the upcoming season.
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However, this offseason hasn’t been like that at all. Every team has been isolated to their respective homes due to the coronavirus outbreak. But it hasn’t kept the Colts from getting their work in.
Though it’s not the same as being in the room and on the field together, head coach Frank Reich told reporters that the work they’ve done so far this offseason has been extremely productive.
Reich says offseason installation has been “extremely productive.” Two hours a day of meetings, two hours of workouts. #Colts
The Colts have been monitoring the workouts for the players with devices sent to their homes. Some players are even keeping up with each other by FaceTiming during the workout sessions.
Some of the Colts have FaceTimed each other while working out, in order to get in a workout out “together"
It will be incredibly difficult to gauge how much this work in the offseason will impact the regular season—whenever that will be. But that isn’t keeping them from doing as much as they can to ensure a productive offseason until they get back into the building together.
Matt Patricia, Lions used Phase 1 of the offseason to teach players
Given the logistical challenges of having players and coaches all over the country in various states of local quarantines, the Detroit Lions and head coach Matt Patricia chose a simpler path in Phase 1 of the team’s offseason activities. The Lions used the initial three-day session last week as an extended teaching seminar rather than a supervised workout.
With several new players and a new defensive coordinator in Cory Undlin, getting everyone on the same page in knowledge is Patricia’s priority. He explained why to the Detroit Free Press.
“We decided to go with the classroom,” Patricia said, “because I thought the teaching was some of the most important things that we need to do now, not only for the players but for the coaches. We have a lot of new coaches and we have a lot of new stuff that’s going in. And quite frankly, the spring is a great time not only for the players but for the coaches to get better being coaches.”
It’s an extension of the emphasis on teaching players that was evident during Senior Bowl practices in January. Patricia and the Lions coached the North squad and the third-year head coach clearly embraced and enjoyed teaching the young prospects.
Players have the ability to work out on their own and in small groups they organize themselves, so using the full team time to educate the players on what the Lions want from everyone makes sense.
Patricia also stated the emphasis on teaching will extend into Phase 2, which begins on May 11th.
The Broncos will have a virtual offseason program this year.
The NFL has closed team facilities in an effort to slow down the spread of COVID-19, which has resulted in teams turning to virtual offseason programs. Broncos players will participate in virtual meetings and workouts with the team’s coaching staff during the virtual program.
Last week, Denver outside linebacker Von Miller shared a brief video of the team’s outside linebackers meeting on his Instagram page. The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala posted the video on Twitter:
The Broncos’ official Twitter account shared an image of an offensive meeting and another photo of quarterback Drew Lock talking with new offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur.
Shurmur joined Denver’s staff earlier this year and he will be installing his offense this summer. The early work of that installment will have to be done in a virtual setting.
Lions vets kick off ‘virtual’ offseason program on Monday
Even though the players can’t come to Allen Park to the team’s training facility, the Detroit Lions will still kick off the offseason program on Monday. Veterans will begin doing their supervised offseason workout program remotely, in accordance with the NFL’s policy adopted in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
GM Bob Quinn laid out what the program will be like during his post-draft press conference on Saturday night.
“The virtual program for our vets, we’ll start there first, we’ll start Monday,” Quinn stated. “Really, what it’s going to be is during phase one normally, the players can be in the building for four hours, two of which can be on field. So, what we’re going to do for the Lions, and every team can be a little different, the League gave us a couple different choices, we’re going to use two hours every day during the phase one to do online classroom. So, that’s what we’re going to do.”
Quinn correctly noted that the workouts are voluntary and will be conducted four days this week. There will be no in-person rookie minicamp or local tryouts, which typically take place in the days after the draft.
Colts begin their offseason workouts in a virtual format.
The Indianapolis Colts, along with the rest of the league, are having to adjust to quarantined life due to the coronavirus outbreak. That’s not keeping them from holding virtual workouts and meetings, though.
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The Colts officially begin their “virtual period” of the offseason program along with 11 other teams. However, the Colts are one of three teams holding virtual workouts during this time.
Twelve teams opted to begin the “virtual period” of their offseason program today, but only three will actually hold virtual *workouts*: the #Bills, #Colts and #Patriots, per me and @MikeGarafolo. Others will do classroom work, etc., but no physical training.
The entire sports world has been put on hold because of the virus outbreak, but the NFL is doing everything they can to get things running as close to normal as possible. The Colts can’t get together for a while, but this will be a potential way to keep tabs on the players and their offseason development.
An interesting aspect of this is that the Colts are requiring players with workout bonuses in their contracts to participate. If the players don’t participate, they won’t get their workout bonuses like a regular offseason.
These three teams are requiring workouts for players to receive credit for participating. The #Bills have over $3m in workout bonuses for their players so it’ll be important for those guys to participate if they want their money. https://t.co/xcTrAtf2yi
It will be an interesting offseason to say the least, but the Colts will be focusing on the offseason workout program while the front office prepares for the draft this week.
The Jets superstar will reportedly skip his team’s virtual offseason, a tactic used by the QB of the club many think he’ll go to in 2020.
Dak Prescott, the centerpiece of the Dallas Cowboys offense who currently does not have a long-term deal with the club in place, has chosen to not participate in the team’s virtual offseason program.
Jamal Adams, the man many would like to be the centerpiece of the Dallas Cowboys secondary, who is in a contract dispute of his own with his current employer, has reportedly chosen to follow suit.
NFL insider Adam Schefter of ESPN is reporting- citing a source- that the All-Pro safety is not expected to take part in the Jets’ voluntary offseason program. As is the case with all teams, workouts will be held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic and begin later this month.
When the NFL’s voluntary virtual off-season program opens this month, Jets’ All-Pro safety Jamal Adams is not expected to participate, per league sources. The Jets have not expressed any official interest in extending Adams thus far in the off-season, per source.
Adams was the subject of rampant trade rumors last season, with the Cowboys being considered the primary suitor for the Texas native. But New York’s asking price was reportedly too high, and talks of a midseason swap stalled. Adams’s name has been linked to Dallas again this offseason, as the Jets have “sent mixed signals about his future,” according to Pro Football Talk’s Darin Gantt.
The Jets had professed their desire for the sixth overall pick in the 2017 draft to remain “a Jet for life,” but the organization has made no official moves toward that end, leaving both the player and fans to wonder if the team is truly committed to him in the long run.
That may sound familiar to the Cowboys faithful wearing their No. 4 jerseys with bated breath.
Without a new contract from the Dallas Cowboys, QB Dak Prescott could be staying away from the team’s offseason program.
The Dallas Cowboys will be embarking on a new era for the 2020 season, the first year without a Jason Garrett led offense since 2006. With the COVID-19 virus derailing the transition to Mike McCarthy’s scheme, the Cowboys will be behind where they would be in a normal offseason.
On Monday, the league announced the delayed offseason would start on April 20 for clubs with new head coaches, like the Cowboys and division rivals from New York and Washington. This is a two-week delay from the original start date. The rest of the league will get going a week later, April 27. Instead of in-person workouts and teaching sessions, everyone will be learning through virtual classes to maintain the social distancing edicts around the nation. Everyone, except quarterback Dak Prescott, it appears.
Without a long-term deal, franchise-tagged QB Dak Prescott won't be participating in the Cowboys' virtual offseason program https://t.co/ONUIyPQ4Mm
Pro Football Talk’s report states “a source with knowledge of the situation, Prescott will not take part in the stay-at-home preparations for the 2020 season, unless and until he has a long-term deal.”
“Dak Prescott says he may skip Cowboys’ offseason workouts if tagged” – January 31, 2020
If true, this is another hit to the Cowboys, who are trying to catch a Philadelphia Eagles team that will start work a week later, but are the only returning coaching staff with system already installed in the division.
Not having their most important player preparing for a new offensive system puts the team further behind the eight ball.
Prescott has progressed as a player in each of his first four seasons due in part to his incredible work ethic. Not participating in the offseason program isn’t an ideal way to start learning a new offense. In an offseason that involves a steeper learning curve with a new coach who is bringing his own offensive ideas, it’s essential that Prescott be around to absorb the changing scheme.
Prescott’s stance is understandable, he wants a long-term deal and one chip to play in his stare down with the Cowboys is to stay away from the team. The QB shouldn’t be willing to put himself at risk while he doesn’t have the financial stability he craves.
The tactic isn’t a new concept, for years players who have been unhappy with the franchise tag have stayed away from their team. Dallas only has to look at last offseason to find a similar case.
RB Ezekiel Elliott participated in last year’s offseason workouts in hopes of getting a long-term deal, but then chose to holdout in training camp. Elliott was in the middle of his deal and not under the franchise tag as Prescott currently is (and hasn’t yet signed, meaning he isn’t under contract), but staying away from workouts remains an option in contract disputes.
The bigger issue for the Cowboys is that Prescott is their franchise quarterback, and without him, they don’t have a chance of winning a Super Bowl. They don’t have an alternative plan to succeed without Prescott and there is no back-up QB on the roster capable of winning games consistently.
Prescott means too much to the Cowboys to not have him around and immersed in the offseason program, even virtually. Any delay in picking up McCarthy’s system could prove to be a detriment to the offense.
Nothing has changed, the Cowboys need to get a deal done with Prescott. The easiest way for Dallas to put themselves in the best position to win is to have an engaged-and-committed player.
Any delay in getting a deal done is just wasting time and putting a successful season under a new coach in jeopardy.
If the quibbling is over the length of the deal as some intimate, then the Cowboys may be essentially throwing away their best chance to compete in 2020 for the right to have Prescott relatively cheap in 2024.
Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien expects the club’s offseason workout program, scheduled for April 20, to be canceled.
April 6 was supposed to be the first day that teams with first-year coaches could begin their offseason workout program.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, those plans have been canceled, and coach Bill O’Brien similarly expects the Houston Texans’ offseason workout program, which is scheduled for April 20, to be canceled.
However, even though the program will be canceled, and Centers for Disease Control guidelines highly discouraging large gatherings, O’Brien is confident in the Texans’ players to keep themselves in shape while adhering to social distancing practices.
“We have a bunch of guys that are go-getters, that are able to work out on their own and get things done,” said O’Brien.
Nonetheless, at some point, if the offseason program is allowed to commence, the Texans will have to get up to speed working together as a cohesive unit.
In response to COVID-19, Broncos quarterback Drew Lock has decided not to get teammates together for offseason throwing sessions this month.
Broncos quarterback Drew Lock planned to get together with teammates this offseason for some throwing sessions. Due to COVID-19, though, the second-year quarterback has decided to postpone those workouts.
“It was going to end up being the first couple weeks of April, but I don’t know if that would be socially responsible for us to do that right now,” Lock said in an interview with Phil Milani of the team’s official website. “Depending on how long this goes on, how long they keep us out of the building and whatnot, I’m sure near the end of this we can all get up maybe a couple weeks before we’re all supposed to be back.”
Lock and his wide receivers could have kept themselves six feet apart during workouts but the players would have to travel to a central location for throwing sessions. The workouts might be able to happen later this year.
“As of right now, there’s not an exact plan to get us all on an airplane or drive across the country and meet up with each other,” Lock said.
While he’s not able to workout with his teammates, Lock has been able to stay in shape. He is living at his parents’ house in Missouri and he has been working with a QBs coach and trainer. Lock also said has been running with an elevation mask, preparing for a return to Colorado.
When football eventually returns, Lock will be ready to take the field.
Even with the excitement of player transactions and guys switching teams, there are still precautions and steps that need to be taken by NFL teams and personnel amid the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Adam Schefter is reporting that the league has implemented policies that include free-agent signees visiting a team’s facility or vice versa for the time being.
In a memo to teams, the NFL has implemented new rules for free agency and postponed the off-season training activities indefinitely, in a memo obtained by ESPN. pic.twitter.com/gFkSErJBa4
