Bills set to begin virtual offseason program on Monday

Bills weight room
Photo credit Photo: Sal Capaccio (@SalSports)

The Buffalo Bills are set to begin Phase 1 of their offseason program on Monday, as they usually do in mid-April. However, this season’s program will be anything but usual.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and players and coaches unable to meet at team facilities, per a memo sent to all 32 teams last week and posted online by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the league and the Players' Union have agreed to a modified offseason program that allows for classroom instruction, workouts, and non-football educational programs using things as Skype or other virtual or video conferencing platforms.

As is always the case, player participation in the program is still voluntary. Players cannot be disciplined in any way by teams for not participating.  

Phase 1 is normally just a conditioning phase with only strength and conditioning coaches, who have no other coaching responsibilities allowed on the field with players. But there will be no on-field work this year due to the modified rules, and according to the memo, team facilities will only open “in conformity with federal, state and local rules and regulations” and if “one or more club facilities remain closed for any period of time, all club facilities must remain closed during that period.”  

While the Bills and other teams are opening their program on Monday, some teams will wait until next Monday, April 27 to begin their programs.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the new “virtual period,” as it will be called, will consist of three consecutive weeks of instruction with the period ending no later than May 15. Also, according to Pelissero, teams are permitted to send players workout equipment and monitoring devices, but not to exceed $1,500 per-individual. Kettlebells, resistance bands, Apple watches are some of the examples Pelissero gives.

Follow me on Twitter @SalSports