The NFL calendar nears the point where onsite minicamps would normally occur, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, actual football practices will likely not begin until training camp in late July. The pandemic also has prompted the league to prevent any team from leaving its facility for camp. Here are the players, coaches and groups who will be most affected by the NFL’s new reality.
QB Tom Brady, Buccaneers
Brady landed in a promising situation in Tampa Bay, where his targets will be Pro Bowl wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and former Patriots wingman Rob Gronkowski. But the transition from Josh McDaniels’ system to Bruce Arians’ will be much more difficult for Brady now than if he had jumped ship a year earlier. The two-plus months’ worth of OTAs and minicamp would have been critical to Brady acclimating to a wildly different system. Going straight into training camp will raise Brady’s degree of difficulty at an age (43) when no quarterback has ever been a full-time starter.
Carolina’s coaching staff
Matt Rhule signed a seven-year contract to coach the Panthers; he has plenty of time to build. But the former Baylor and Temple coach is light on NFL experience. So are his offensive and defensive coordinators (Joe Brady and Phil Snow). Altogether, Carolina’s top three coaches have seven combined years of NFL coaching experience. Of those, only Snow -– whose three-year run as Lions linebackers coach ended after Detroit’s 0-16 season in 2008 -– has even been an NFL position coach. Rhule and his top staffers missing a traditional offseason will make for an eye-opening training camp.
Jadeveon Clowney, free agent edge defender
Among this year’s non-franchise-tagged edge-rusher contingent, Clowney profiled as the top prize. The former No. 1 overall pick’s first trip to free agency will almost certainly not produce the $20 million-per-year contract he initially sought. Free agents’ inability to visit teams has played into Clowney’s unemployment. Years of knee issues and last season’s groin injury have produced medical questions. When Clowney does sign, he will likely secure less guaranteed money than Robert Quinn ($30M), Dante Fowler ($29M) and Shaq Lawson ($22M). None are as talented as Clowney.
If Clowney signs a one-year deal, he will re-enter free agency in a year when the salary cap could decrease for the first time in 10 years. After playing on a fifth-year option in 2018 and the franchise tag last year, Clowney entering 2021 without a long-term deal represents a glitch in the NFL’s system.
Franchise-tagged performers
Fourteen teams used the franchise tag this year -– the most since 2012 –- and the Cardinals transition-tagged running back Kenyan Drake. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, Bengals wideout A.J. Green, Titans running back Derrick Henry and Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones are among the most notable tagged players. Other than Green, none of this group has ever signed a lucrative extension. Being kept off the market now -– in advance of an 2021 offseason when the salary cap could drop because of a fan-less or fan-limited 2020 season – represents bad timing.
Teams will be reluctant to authorize mega-extensions for some of these players, leaving them with no guaranteed money beyond 2020 and potentially bound for free agency on a buyer’s market.
Cornerback Jeff Gladney, Vikings
The Vikings will count on their first-round cornerback to play a key role in 2020. But they use one of the NFL’s more complex defensive systems. Gladney missing out on the reps an offseason program would have provided in Mike Zimmer’s defense figures to be critical. The TCU prospect will arrive in Minnesota amid a secondary overhaul, with the Vikings having cut Xavier Rhodes and allowed Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander to leave in free agency. More will be asked of Gladney than it was Waynes, Alexander or 2018 first-rounder Mike Hughes.
