For the New England Patriots, preparation for the 2023 NFL season begins in earnest this week.
Monday marks the official start of the Patriots’ offseason program, with players and coaches returning from their respective offseason homes to reconvene at Gillette Stadium.
The NFL strictly regulates which activities are permitted at each stage of a team’s offseason program. The first two weeks — designated as “Phase One” — can feature only meetings and strength and conditioning work, with on-field workouts off-limits until after the 2023 NFL Draft (April 27-29).
Here’s how the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement officially describes Phases Two and Three:
— Phase Two 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 Three 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.
The Patriots’ OTAs are scheduled for May 22-23, May 25, May 30-31, June 2, June 5-6 and June 8-9, with a three-day mandatory minicamp set for June 12-14 before the team breaks for the summer. The rest of the offseason program, including OTAs, is voluntary for players.
Teams cannot hold fully padded, full-contact practices until training camp, which begins in late July.
Spring workouts and practices are closed to the public, but reporters are allowed to watch minicamp and a handful of OTAs. That’s when the media will get its first glimpse at how New England’s offense will look under new coordinator and quarterbacks coach Bill O’Brien, who was hired in January to replace Matt Patricia and Joe Judge.
Those spring sessions also will provide a preview of the potential training camp competition between QBs Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe. Both signal-callers reportedly trained at the Patriots’ facility ahead of Monday’s official return date.
O’Brien is scheduled to speak with reporters Tuesday for the first time since his hiring, as are the rest of New England’s assistants and director of player personnel Matt Groh.
