Here comes the start of the Bills' first offseason program under new head coach Joe Brady
The Buffalo Bills begin the start of their offseason program Tuesday. You can expect some cursing.
The Buffalo Bills begin their offseason program on Tuesday.
You can expect some cursing.
At least, that was the message from new head coach Joe Brady, who will be in front of the entire team – or, at least those who show up to the voluntary sessions – for the first time in what will be an offseason full of firsts for him.
New Bills head coach Joe Brady will be in front of his team for the first time on Tuesday for the start of the team's offseason program.
Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
Asked last week what his message to players will be, Brady joked: “I can’t tell you guys that. There will probably be some cursing, I’m not going to lie. No, honestly, part of the process right now is just making sure I’m not loading them with everything Day 1.”
Speaking last week in Arizona during the NFL league meeting, Brady equated the Bills' offseason work to getting back together on the first day of high school.
“You were so excited for that first week of school again, and you showed up for that first class, and halfway through that first class you’re like, ‘Why the hell did I want to get back to school, right?' You’re not used to it,” he said. “Just like these guys. They’re working out, they’re golfing, they’re doing all their stuff and now they’re going to sit in these meetings for a day. They’re going to be like, ‘What the hell was that? What am I doing?’ I have to be pretty intentional and mindful.”
According to Article 21 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFL and the NFL Players Association, each team’s official voluntary nine-week offseason program is conducted in three phases. Here is what is permitted in each of them:
• Phase 1 consists of the first two weeks of the program, "with activities limited to meetings, strength and conditioning, and physical rehabilitation only."
• Phase 2 consists of the next three weeks of the program: On-field workouts may include individual or group instruction and drills, as well as "perfect play drills," and drills and plays with offensive players lining up across from offensive players and defensive players lining up across from defensive players, conducted at a walk-through pace. No live contact or team offense-vs.-team defense drills are permitted.
• Phase 3 consists of the next four weeks of the program. Teams may conduct a total of 10 days of organized team practice activity, or "OTAs." No live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are permitted.
“I want Phase 1 to be about the conditioning, the strength element. I don't want to assume anything,” Brady told The Buffalo News last month.
“I don't want to assume that all of our guys are non-stop training, working hard right now. We get to spend a little time doing football. They get to understand what this program is going to look like, both with me as the head coach now, but really making sure, to me, it's that we get two extra weeks of diving into our strength and conditioning program.”
Because Brady is a new head coach, the Bills are also entitled to conduct an additional voluntary veteran minicamp, which must happen before the NFL draft. The Bills will hold that minicamp from April 20-22, just before the first round of the draft on April 23.
“Because you're trying to ramp up from Phase 1, then we get that voluntary minicamp with the vets, and then to ramp it into Phase 2, you get some more time. Then when you get to OTAs, you're not being like, ‘Man, we've got to dial this back,’ ” he said. “It's like, ‘No, we only get so many of these.’ This has to be hard going into it, because I want this to be the hardest training camp we've gone into. That's where the conditioning element is so important.”
It was not immediately clear as of Monday afternoon whether quarterback Josh Allen would be in attendance for the start of the offseason program. Allen and his wife, Hailee, welcomed their first child last week, a daughter.
“Josh sets the tone with everything we do. Like any offseason, there are certain times of the season where it is voluntary,” Brady said last week before the couple’s baby was born. “When you’re Josh Allen, you’ve got marketing, you’ve got family. I’m understanding of guys (who) might not be able to be there every single day and at every moment, but what I know is, if Josh can, he will.
“I’m not sitting in this chair without Josh. We’re in this together, and we’ve got to hold each other accountable. I know how important that is for him to be, especially on day one, sitting in that chair and hoping everyone else will as well.”
The full dates for the Bills’ entire offseason program are as follows:
First Day: April 7
Voluntary Minicamp: April 20-22
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 18-19, May 21, May 26-28, June 1-4
Mandatory Minicamp: June 9-11
“I’m excited for it, but I have to make sure that I’m not too excited because I also have to meet them where they’re at,” Brady said.