Presented by

Coronavirus Concerns Impacting Free Agency Announcements

Mar 18, 2020 at 01:44 PM

azcardinals.com

Coronavirus ultimately didn't stop free agency or the beginning of the NFL's league year -- but that doesn't mean it won't have a major impact on how things play out in regards to free agency.

According to the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, because players cannot enter club facilities before March 31 due to health concerns, physicals are also on hold in that regard. Because of that, the NFL is prohibiting any official announcements from teams until physicals have been done.

UPDATE: The NFL switched course Thursday, and teams now are allowed to announce deals without physicals.

Also, don't expect a flood of official signing announcements at 4 p.m. tomorrow. The memo says teams may not announce a player has agreed to terms pending a physical -- only if they have executed a contract with the player.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 18, 2020

Physicals are always one of those underrated parts of the roster building process. When news comes out about a move, no one usually thinks much about the physical -- it's one of those boxes that has to be checked, and rarely is it an issue. Everyone just waits for the announcement and a press conference. But when they can't happen, you can see what results.

What is going on in the United States -- and the world -- continues to change on a daily basis. It is impossible to know what things will look like in a week, a two weeks, a month. All of this is evolving for society. The NFL is trying to figure this out as well. So while news will continue to leak in the media about trades and free-agent agreements, the timeline for finalizing such things -- including the move of a certain wide receiver -- will be on hold for now.