As the NFL offseason forges on with trades and free agency amid the coronavirus pandemic, the league is advising teams to take care with their agreements.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network shared Tuesday night that the NFL sent a memo to executives and coaches recommending clubs “should consider including contingency language in trade agreements to account for a scenario where a player is unable to take and pass a physical” due to special rules regarding COVID-19.
Pelissero noted that teams are not allowed to have players into their facilities through March 31, due to the coronavirus pandemic, and cannot have physicals there. The league issued that order on Monday as the threat of COVID-19 became more apparent, shutting down offseason activities indefinitely.
Furthermore, Pelissero noted that this development could end up meaning there won’t be many official announcements about free agency once the new league year officially begins Wednesday.
This comes one day after an NFL owner told NFL.com’s Judy Battista that he’d be surprised if players were allowed back at team facilities until training camp due to the threat of COVID-19.
So, while it sure feels like it’s business as usual for the NFL now that players are making million-dollar deals in free agency, it’s very clear that this offseason is most certainly not usual — nor will it be for quite some time.