Tag: Virtual Offseason Program

Jets to skip minicamp due to COVID-19 pandemic

The Jets will skip their mandatory minicamp this offseason because of COVID-19.

Despite finally being able to reopen their training facility, the New York Jets have canceled one of the most important events on their calendar.

According to the New York Post’s Brian Costello, the Jets will not hold their three-day, in-person mandatory minicamp this offseason. They’ll conclude their virtual offseason program next week and then hopefully come back together for training camp at the end of July.

The Jets’ mandatory minicamp was scheduled for June 4-6. However, the NFL has yet to make a decision on whether or not minicamps will be held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the Jets’ case, it didn’t appear likely that their minicamp would happen given that their facility just reopened for business with tight protocols in place.

The NFL has strict restrictions on who can re-enter training facilities. Only players who are rehabbing injuries can return to the facilities for treatment. No other players or coaches are allowed back in the building.

The NFL also announced Tuesday that teams must stay at their own facilities for training camp. This doesn’t affect the Jets since their only training site is located in Florham Park, New Jersey.

NFL extends virtual offseason programs until May 29

The NFL has extended its virtual offseason program through the end of the month.

The NFL has extended virtual offseason programs until May 29, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

“If a Club begins but subsequently discontinues the Virtual Period, the Club may resume its offseason workout program at a later date, either on a virtual basis or on-field if all NFL facilities have reopened,” the league said in a memo sent to teams.

All teams must have their offseason workout programs completed by June 26. If possible, the NFL will aim to start training camps in late July.

The Broncos previously started virtual meetings and workouts for veteran players and rookies joined the meeting this week. Denver kicker Brandon McManus told The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala that he doesn’t expect players to return to the facility until training camp.

“My guess is we don’t go in there at all until training camp,” McManus said. “I think we’ll be in there July 28.”

After the draft, Broncos GM John Elway said the league is hoping to start training camps — and the NFL season — on time.

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Adam Gase wants Sam Darnold to be ‘extension’ of Jets coaching staff during offseason program

Adam Gase has a simple message for his quarterback, he wants Sam Darnold to grab ahold of the offense that’s been catered to him.

Sam Darnold has lofty expectations on his shoulders as the Jets quarterback virtually prepares for his second-year of tutelage under Adam Gase.

With all offseason work now being done remotely, Gase doesn’t expect the change in process to hinder the third-year quarterback’s grasp on the offense.

“I’m not worried about it with how we’re going to be doing things and how we’re going to be talking through it,” Gase said on a call with reporters on Monday. “I know that he’s kind of had the ability to do some things on his own out West.”

Obviously, studying alone in California isn’t the same as Darnold being with his teammates and coaches. Still, Gase has enough confidence in his quarterback to take the necessary steps during the quarantine period to continue developing into a franchise signal-caller.

“I feel like things are kind of moving in the right direction,” Gase said. “It’s hard for me to talk about these mythical steps that everybody’s talking about. I mean, all I know is we need to find ways to win games and put ourselves in a position where we can make the tournament. That’s what the goal is.”

Darnold’s growth hasn’t been as linear as the Jets would’ve hoped for it to be. However, that’s the risk you take with young quarterbacks. In two seasons, he’s shown flashes of brilliance and plenty of promise but hasn’t quite cemented the status that comes with being the No. 3 overall pick in your draft class. In two seasons, Darnold is 11-15 as a starter, throwing 36 touchdown passes and 28 interceptions.

With that said, Gase is comfortable with Darnold’s knowledge of the offense. In a timeline without the COVID-19 pandemic, Darnold would be jumping at the opportunity to bring new guys like Breshad Perriman, Josh Doctson, Deznel Mims and Lawrence Cager up to speed on the team’s offense.

“Sam’s trying to do the right thing as far as making sure that he knows this offense cold and he knows all the little details that he needs to do, day in and day out, and we just have to help get all these guys who are new caught up to speed as fast as possible,” Gase said. “I mean, he’s really kind of an extension of the coaching staff in that aspect, because he has more experience in this offense than most of the guys that are here, and he’s going to have to do a good job of just making sure that he’s on point.”

Adam Gase breaks down Jets’ voluntary virtual offseason program

The Jets will do their virtual offseason program on Zoom with different positional meetings four times a week and two hours a day.

The New York Jets officially began their voluntary virtual offseason program on Monday.

With the COVID-19 pandemic in full force, all 32 NFL teams are moving to a virtual-based offseason program instead of an in-person one. The Jets began theirs on Monday with Jamal Adams being the lone wolf choosing not to participate.

Jets head coach Adam Gase explained that the program will have a four-hour window for players because the roster is spread out across the country in different time zones. The team will do positional meetings via video conferences four days a week and two hours per day. They will be able to communicate, share screens and watch film together.

Gase said he will be “very hands-on” in the program, jumping in and out of different positional meetings.

“It’s a unique way of doing things, but I think it’s going to be beneficial for us,” Gase told reporters via conference call.

Luckily for the Jets, they’re already a year into Gase’s system. They know how he operates and what he expects out of them. It’s not as if they have to learn a brand new system with a new head coach like some teams will have to do this offseason. It’s more of just cleaning up on the mistakes they made last year and preventing them from happening this season.

This program is going to be most beneficial for the newcomers. They will be the ones who are going to learn the most. So while it seems like this is not the most important thing in terms of getting ready for the season, this is the first step in having all the players on the same page for 2020.

“Things will come up and we’ll have to adjust,” Gase said. “The good news is, I feel like the players are anxious to get going on something. There’s not a lot of contact with people outside of FaceTime. This is a good opportunity for guys to actually see each other on these Microsoft teams meetings that we’re having. You can see your teammates, have discussions, interact. I think guys are excited to be a part of that.”