The next step in the NFL’s plans to try and begin preparation for an on-time start to the 2020 season is official. NFL teams were sent a memo today that allows coaches to return to the facility this Friday.
It’s a solid first step as the league and the country attempts to slowly re-open amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The next step the NFL hoped to accomplish was to hold June minicamp either on-time or only slightly late. The problem with those hopes is it relies on the approval of the NFLPA and from the beginning of the NFL discussing this possibility, the NFLPA made it clear they would be far more cautious with the safety of the players.
Should minicamp be a no-go, the NFL offseason would be a wash. Usually, there would have been ten voluntary Organized Team Activities (OTA) practices in May and June followed by the three-day mandatory minicamp in mid-June. OTA’s were lost already. If the minicamp doesn’t happen either, the teams won’t reconvene until training camp in late July.
There has been some discussion about possibly starting training camp a week early due to the loss of the offseason program.
