The COVID-19 outbreak has forced the National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, and the NCAA to all postpone their seasons this week, and the NFL could be next.
Although the regular season doesn't begin for another seven months, the coronavirus could be on the verge of impacting the timeline of major offseason events.
ProFootballTalk.com's Mike Florio reports the NFL is seriously considering pushing back next week's start of unrestricted free agency.
Source: NFL is considering delaying free agency on Sunday, after CBA voting has closed https://t.co/t6DixvJjO7
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 12, 2020The tampering window for teams is supposed to open up next Monday, while the official window to sign players was set for Wednesday afternoon.
A decision will be made by Sunday on whether or not that timetable is still correct. There is a real chance it will not be as teams have already begun prohibiting staff from traveling, and the annual NFL owners meeting this month was officially canceled.
It is hard to imagine free agents will be traveling around the country to make official visits with teams.
A postponement of the free agent window could have a direct impact on the state of the 2020 NFL Draft set for late April.
So too could the fact that coaches and scouts are not expected to attend the rest of pro days, a major part of the pre-draft evaluation process.
The Chicago Bears have already canceled official pre-draft visits with prospects and their draft party.
If these major parts of the offseason are potentially pushed into April, the draft could be pushed back too.
As all other leagues are, the NFL is currently in the wait and see mode for the draft. A decision on free agency however, will come within just a few days.
