NFL teams are using loophole in league policy to announce offseason moves
The coronavirus pandemic has shut down much of the sports world, but the NFL offseason is still moving forward.
Just in the past couple days, Tom Brady (reportedly) joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, DeAndre Hopkins was traded to the Arizona Cardinals and Nick Foles was traded to the Chicago Bears.
There’s just one issue with the communication of these offseason moves: Teams technically aren’t allowed to announce them yet.
They can only agree to terms.
NFL policy prohibits teams from announcing signings and trades before a contract is finalized. Also, the finalization of these moves typically requires the players to undergo a physical with a team physician. That’s not possible given the coronavirus pandemic, so teams are getting creative with these announcements.
They’re instead relying on a policy loophole.
Though the league prohibits official announcements before contracts are finalized, the teams are allowed to share media reports. That’s exactly what the Cardinals did when announcing the David Johnson-Hopkins trade. They relied on “multiple reports."
The Los Angeles Rams announced the signing of defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson, citing a "credible source."
Other teams are using the same loophole.
Hey, it’s not breaking the rules if NFL Network says it. NFL teams are just getting creative.
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