Young-Blooded Patriots Reportedly Won't Get to Hold Minicamps This Month

Minicamps being cancelled is bad news for a Patriots team relying on their young talent moving forward.

After many rumors and speculation, the answer has finally been given: minicamps will not happen. 

The NFL has notified teams the virtual period for offseason work will be extended through June 26, but there will be no in-person minicamps this month, according to NFL Media's Tom Pelissero. 

The NFL has notified teams the virtual period for offseason work will be extended through June 26, but there will be no in-person minicamps this month, per sources. Expected, and now official.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) June 11, 2020

Teams have the option to extend their offseason program another two weeks or discontinue them after this week, which many teams are opting to do, per Pelissero. 

Clubs have the option to extend their virtual offseason program for another two weeks, or discontinue after this week, which a bunch of teams are doing. The NFL and NFLPA continue to work together on remaining protocols to create a safe reopening for training camp.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) June 11, 2020

Not being able to hold in-person minicamps is bad news for the New England Patriots. As a team that is transitioning into the post-Tom Brady era, they are beginning to rely heavily on some of the young talent they have drafted over the past couple years. Because of that, it's important for them to get in as much work together as a unit ahead of the season. That would usually take place during OTAs and minicamp, but those have now both been cancelled. The newly-added players now won't be able to meet their teammates and coaches face to face until training camp, which will also be their first opportunity to work with them on the field. 

One has to think this will impact the six-time Super Bowl champions negatively next season. There is too much valuable time that has been taken away from NFL teams this offseason, which means they won't get to fully acclimate themselves until training camp, which is roughly five weeks before the regular season begins. 

There are ongoing discussions between the NFL and NFLPA about potentially reducing the preseason to provide teams more time to acclimate. But even if that does happen, teams may not hit their full stride during the regular season until October or early November because of the situation at hand due to the pandemic.