The NFL has announced its plans for the offseason/spring workout schedule. It consists of three phases, including on-field work beginning in mid-May. It also includes a mandatory minicamp.
According to Mike Garafolo, here is the schedule.
Jonathan Jones tweeted out a more detailed list of what each phase entails.
Beginning Monday, April 19th, the offseason program will begin. Team weight rooms will be open but all meetings will be virtual and there will be no on-field work permitted.
Starting May 17th, teams will be allowed to conduct contactless, on-field drills with meetings remaining virtual. The NFL also announced there will be rookie minicamps, including the traditional, three-day minicamp the first or second weekend after the draft. That would also allow tryout players a chance to compete.
Beginning on May 24th, there will be a voluntary, ten day offseason team activities followed by a mandatory minicamp. In past years, that “voluntary” minicamp felt mandatory with nearly all players attending.
This year, of course, is different. The NFLPA has strongly come out against any in-person work this offseason, preferring to repeat last year’s model of an entirely virtual offseason until training camps begin in mid-late July. Several teams have already announced they are boycotting voluntary workouts. The Steelers have yet to make an announcement but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them join that list after union rep Cam Heyward spoke out against the NFL’s push for face-to-face work.
As Pelissero’s above tweet notes, the union had no role or say in putting together this offseason program schedule. They are likely to come out strongly against it. It’s unclear how many players will actually follow this schedule, especially when it comes to the mandatory minicamp.
