Redskins Suspend Travel for Scouts and Coaches

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March 12, 2020

by Steve Thomas

Redskins owner Daniel Snyder issued a statement this morning notifying the public that the team has suspended all travel for scouts and coaches:

Due to health and travel concerns surrounding COVID-19, we have informed all of our scouts and coaches that they must return to their home bases and travel will be suspended until further notice. The health and safety of our staff and players is our number one priority and we feel that these are the necessary precautions given the current circumstances.

With this decision, the Redskins become the first NFL team to take action in light of the recent worldwide Coronavirus outbreak.  The NBA announced last night that it was putting the 2019-20 season on hiatus until further notice in order to give the NBA front office and team owners time to evaluate the situation, but until the Redskins announcement, no NFL team or front office representative has made any public comment or publicly taken action.

The team’s directive comes at a critical time in the scouting process.  The next major event on the NFL calendar is the start of the new league year and the opening of free agency on March 18, and then after that, the NFL Draft is scheduled to begin on April 23 in Las Vegas.  Whether or not the NFL elects to proceed as scheduled or modify or limit league activities is unknown at this point.  Absent Mr. Snyder’s directive, Redskins’ officials would spend the majority of the next month on the road conducting player evaluations, attending pro days, and interviewing draft and free agent prospects.

The Redskins’ statement does not include any information as to whether the team will still request free agent and draft prospects to travel to Redskins Park.

For information regarding the Coronavirus outbreak, please go to the World Health Organization’s website by clicking here.

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UPDATE:

According to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, the NFL has decided that it will not delay the start of the 2020 league year from the currently-scheduled March 18 date:

In addition, NFL agent Erik Burkhardt of Select Sports Group, who represents a number of 2020 draft prospects, posted to his Twitter feed that he has been informed that the NFL has cancelled all team facility visits:

Finally, the NFL released a statement providing that the league’s annual meeting scheduled for March 29 – April 1 has been canceled, with the agenda rolling over into the  Spring meeting on May 19-20.