Why Did NFL Punish Patriots? This Explanation Would Make Sense

So, what did the Patriots do this time?

Thursday should’ve ended a recent stretch of little-to-no news on the local football team, as reporters were supposed to gain access to an offseason practice. But New England announced Wednesday afternoon that Thursday’s practice was canceled, with the first media availability rescheduled for next Wednesday. At first glance, it seemed like another case of Bill Belichick messing with reporters.

However, as it turns out, it’s NFL rules that Belichick reportedly was messing with.

ESPN’s Mike Reiss on Wednesday night reported the Patriots were forced to cancel two organized team activity (OTA) practices after violating NFL offseason guidelines. NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry later added that next Tuesday’s voluntary session was the second practice taken from New England.

Neither Reiss nor Pery offered details on the violation, and the Patriots declined to comment when reached by ESPN. We probably will get an explanation at some point, but the situation was shrouded in mystery as of Thursday morning.

But a recent history of similar NFL punishments might offer potential clues.

Last year, the Chicago Bears lost one OTA practice after an NFLPA representative witnessed prohibited on-field contact during spring practices and reported it to the league, according to ESPN. The Washington Commanders committed a similar violation last spring, resulting in the loss of two OTA practices this year. The Dallas Cowboys also were docked on OTA practice this year, again for violating non-contact rules in 2022. Over the last five years, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and Houston Texans all have been fined or docked practices — or both — for allowing excessive contact during spring practices.

The rules are clear in the latest NFL-NFLPA collective bargaining agreement.

“Contact work … is expressly prohibited in all offseason workouts,” the agreement reads.

We still don’t know how the Patriots got caught doing whatever it is they were doing. But all offseason practices are recorded and the NFLPA is allowed to review the recordings “only upon the filing of a complaint alleging a violation,” per the CBA.

Again, none of this means that New England violated the non-contact guidelines. But it would be the least surprising outcome for this story.

Belichick is scheduled to speak with reporters next Wednesday, so he inevitably will field questions on the issue. Whether he’ll answer them remains to be seen.