NFL rumors: This violation resulted in Patriots forfeiting OTA practice
This violation resulted in Patriots forfeiting OTA practices, per report originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The New England Patriots had two days of OTAs taken away from them because of a violation of NFL offseason rules.
What happened?
Well, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk, "it was a meeting violation."
Florio writes, "an observer from the NFL Players Association believed that one of the optional early offseason meetings was a violation, because the 15-minute meeting in question (a special-teams session) was made visible on the internal schedule. In the opinion of the NFLPA, placing the meeting on the formal schedule converted it from 'optional' to 'mandatory.'"
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Patriots head coach Bill Belichick also was fined $50,000 by the league, per Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal:
Joe Judge played a part in the rules violation, too, per Bedard.
Bill Belichick fined, Joe Judge at heart of offseason rules violation
Judge scheduled 20-minute meetings that caused offense and defense players to be at the facility longer than their maximum four hours.https://t.co/hpf0YWovHl— Greg A. Bedard (@GregABedard) May 25, 2023
So, essentially, a special teams scheduling error cost the Patriots two OTAs.
It's a clumsy error by the Patriots, especially after they devoted plenty of resources to bolstering their special teams group this offseason following a less-than-stellar showing by that unit during the 2022 campaign.
The OTAs that were taken from the Patriots were Thursday's session (May 25) and, per NBC Sports Boston's Phil Perry, next Tuesday's practice (May 30).
OTAs are very valuable. It's a great opportunity for teams to integrate new players, work with rookies, install new offensive and defensive plays, etc. These sessions are especially valuable for teams like the Patriots that have added a bunch of new players and hired new coaches in important positions during the offseason.