The next few months "certainly won't be normal for the NFL" despite its insistence that the '20 season will take place without delay, according to Ben Volin of the BOSTON GLOBE. Offseason workouts that are scheduled to begin as early as next Monday for some teams "may eventually be done 'virtually' over Zoom or other conferencing applications." The NFL Draft that begins on April 23 will "adhere to social distancing guidelines," as teams "will have to create their own draft rooms at a location away from the team facility." Meanwhile, the NFL is taking a "wait-and-see approach with its future events." The owners' meetings are "still scheduled for May 19-20 in California but may be canceled" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/1). ESPN's Adam Schefter noted NFL offseason programs are "highly unlikely to happen." Schefter: "We're not going to see an offseason program from the NFL this year. Organized team activities that once were a regular part of NFL offseasons are not going to take place in the world that we now are living in" (“NFL Live,” ESPN, 3/31). NFL Network's Mike Garafolo noted there may be an "entirely virtual offseason" for teams to conduct business and work with the players ("NFL Total Access," NFL Network, 3/31).
NOT OK WITH EVERYTHING: THE ATHLETIC's Jeff Schultz wrote he does not consider the NFL's decision to "stick to the draft's April 23-25 scheduling a bad thing." As long as it "can be done safely, by phone, the league is taking the same approach as any business ... trying to operate as best as it can in difficult and unusual circumstances." However, it is a "major problem" that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told team execs, GMs and coaches late last month that public discussion about the draft could result in disciplinary action. That "seemed odd, not to mention well out of bounds" (THEATHLETIC.com, 3/31).
KEEP THINGS IN MIND: In Dallas, Tim Cowlishaw writes the NFL postponing the draft for a month "would only have been a guess as to when things will be better," so the "smart play is to do what you can and embrace the fact that you're not ... already losing games and money and time." However, this will "be a draft unlike any other both in terms of preparation and production" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 4/1). In Minneapolis, Mark Craig writes the NFL "isn't doing anything wrong by conducting its high-speed business at a safe distance from a low-speed world that's buffering." But it also is not "behaving admirably as some sort of heroic distraction for people worrying about loved ones." Craig: "Let's hope the NFL and its talking TV heads understand the latter when they go live with the draft" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 4/1).
