Scheduling Errors by Ex-Giants Coach Joe Judge Led to Patriots’ Penalty, per Report

New England was stripped of two OTAs and Bill Belichick received a hefty fine due to the violation.

The reason for the Patriots losing two days of voluntary organized team activities by the NFL has come to light, and it involves ex-Giants head coach Joe Judge.

After receiving the penalty from the league on Wednesday, additional details revealed that New England violated various offseason rules. Primarily, the infractions were centered around some internal scheduling errors and a few special teams meetings led by Judge, according to the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan.

The special teams meetings violated offseason rules because they lasted for over four hours, which is the NFL’s limit for meetings of this kind. A report regarding the situation obtained by BostonSportsJournal.com states that the meetings happened on three separate days and lasted around 15 minutes past the four-hour mark.

A complaint was filed by the NFLPA on May 4 regarding the matter since the NFL-NFLPA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement states that players aren’t allowed to be at the facility longer than four hours a day or more than four days a week. 

The Patriots were stripped of their OTAs on Thursday, May 25 and Tuesday, May 30 following the NFL’s ruling. Additionally, coach Bill Belichick was fined $50,000 for the violations.

Judge is in his second season on the Patriots coaching staff as an offensive assistant. He served as the head coach of the Giants for two seasons in 2020 and ’21.