Eagles Can Kick Off 'Virtual' Offseason

The NFL approved a plan that allows all of its teams to conduct "workouts" later this month and lets teams provide equipment to the players. This is what it is supposed to look like.

With many states still in the weeds navigating shelter-in-place mandates stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, the NFL and its players are shifting toward a virtual offseason program this spring.

The league and the players association jointly announced an agreement Monday regarding an offseason program that will allow teams to provide both online meetings and virtual workout instruction to their players.

While there are yardsticks, most notably a limit of four hours of live or recorded virtual instruction a day for a maximum of four times each week of the program, organizations will have plenty of wiggle room to manage their own programs as they see fit.

Teams with new coaches, which includes everyone in the NFC East except the Eagles, can start their virtual programs April 20, while franchise like Philadelphia with stability at the top of the coaching staff can kick things off on April 27, two days after the conclusion of the 2020 NFL Draft.

On-field workouts remain shuttered for now and will not resume until all club facilities are allowed to re-open by state and local governments. That's for competitive-balance reasons and the assumption of states like California, New Jersey and Louisiana having a more difficult time becoming fully functional again compared to some lighter-hit spots around the country.

"This is something that we had a lot of discussions with the players association over the last couple of weeks in an effort to figure out how can we, collectively, come up with a program that will adjust to the current realities," said NFL executive vice president Jeff Pash via conference call. "(If or when the) virtual period comes to a close, we’ll make an assessment depending on what the medical and public health recommendations are and assess whether it’s possible for teams to transition to a more traditional offseason program."

Phase 2 of the virtual offseason program, when players are allowed on-field instruction for the first time in advance of the 2020 season, is targeted for mid-May.

Like the typical NFL offseason program, all virtual work will remain voluntary, and the players with offseason workout bonuses will still be in line to earn them under the terms of their particular contracts. No team, however, is required to participate in the first part of the program and each can also opt only for online classroom instruction, instead of virtual workouts.

From an organization's perspective, each is allowed to provide up to $1,500 worth of equipment to players who need technical upgrades at their homes.

The kicker to encourage teams to participate is the limits on an organization that does not participate in the virtual period that starts April 20/27. Any team that sits out Phase 1 of virtual work will not be allowed to conduct off-season workouts after that period even if actual on-field workouts begin, admittedly an unlikely prospect.

In some ways, this could be a logistical nightmare considering the offseason roster size is 90 but how organizations use their time could be the difference between a good season and a bad one.

Tuesday morning there was a report from The Daily Mail in the United Kingdom that Premier League players have instructed to be ready to return to full training by the end of May. The NFL, meanwhile, has said plans remain in place that the season will kick off on time but Pash again reiterated Monday that's a decision that will be made in adherence with "recommended medical and public health practices.”

"We’re going to do it in a way that preserves competitive equity and doesn’t expose anyone to risks that the medical profession says people shouldn’t be exposed to," said Pash. "We’re going to rely on that kind of guidance."

John McMullen covers the Eagles for SI.com. You can listen to John every day on SIRIUSXM’s Tony Bruno Show with Harry Mayes and on ESPN 97.3 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen