Panthers’ offseason training program is “indefinitely delayed”
NFL free agency is going to look a little different this year.
Free agency will continue to go on as scheduled with the legal tampering period beginning Monday at noon, despite growing concerns surrounding the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. The league year will officially start Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET.
Things will look a bit different, however. Teams can not bring any free agent player, even from their own team, to their facility or any other location to meet with personnel, per a memo distributed to teams. They also can not travel to visit with a free agent player. All of the restrictions are until further notice.
The league has officially postponed the start of offseason training programs. Teams like the Panthers who have new head coaches this season were scheduled to begin their programs April 6. That will now be “delayed indefinitely.”
The decision comes days after the NFL put in place a policy for all teams that prohibited traveling to colleges to visit with draft prospects and from hosting prospects at their facilities. The Panthers had announced that they would be limiting the travel of scouts and coaches prior to the mandate, in addition to instructing most employees to work from home.
The delay will likely give Rhule and the new Panthers coaching staff less time to implement their system and get to know the roster. It also opens more questions about the team’s ability to get a sense of Cam Newton’s health as he progresses this spring.
The NFL’s decision comes after the postponement of professional sports around the country due to coronavirus. The NBA and MLS have postponed their leagues mid-season, MLB pushed back the start of its season and the NCAA canceled all winter and spring championships, including the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. Many schools had already canceled their pro days, as well, leading to some draft prospects holding their own and recording videos to send to teams.
On top of facilities being off limits to free agency, the Panthers’ current players also cannot be in the facility for the next two weeks. Many use the facilities to work out.
The impact of these measures will not be known for some time. It certainly does not benefit a new coaching staff like the Panthers.
