The NFL released the dates of the offseason programs for all 32 teams this week. In New England, OTAs will start on the later end, compared to much of the rest of the league.
As announced by the league Wednesday, the Patriots’ first official offseason workout as a team will be their first organized team activity (OTA) on Tuesday, May 26. OTAs will continue with select dates through June 11, with mandatory minicamp coming June 15-17 in Foxboro.
OTAs are actually in Phase 3 of the offseason program. OTAs will mark the first time of the year that team drills are permitted, although live contact is not yet allowed until the first fully padded practice of training camp.
Check out the full list of upcoming offseason workout dates for the Patriots:
May 26, May 28-29, June 1-2, June 4, June 8-9, June 11
For many watching the Patriots closely, interest may lie not in when the Patriots are practicing together, but when head coach Mike Vrabel will be there. Vrabel is expected to take more time away from the team to tend to his personal life as the offseason goes on, after his quick return to team facilities on Monday raised questions of how much time he’d really be off from the Patriots.
The Patriots have built-in days off from practice throughout the rest of the offseason program, so Vrabel should have little trouble finding pockets of time that he can hit the pause button on football, and deal with real life. And preferably dodge paparazzi at the airport. This is the new normal for him.
Matt, a North Andover, Massachusetts native, has been with The Sports Hub since 2010. Growing up the son of Boston University All-American and Melrose High School hall-of-fame hockey player Steve Dolloff, sports was always a part of his life. After attending Northeastern University, Matt focused his love of sports on writing, extensively writing about all four major Boston teams. He also is a co-host of the Sports Hub Underground podcast and is a regular on-air contributor on the Sports Hub. Matt writes about all New England sports from Patriots football to Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins.