15-minute special teams meeting reportedly the reason Patriots were stripped of two OTA practices

The New England Patriots were docked two days of organized team activities due to a violation of offseason rules on Wednesday. According to ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio, the violation reportedly occurred in the meeting room, not on the practice fields.

“Per a source with knowledge of the situation, it was a meeting violation,” Florio wrote. “According to the source, an observer from the NFL Players Association believed that one of the optional early offseason meetings was a violation, because the 15-minute meeting in question (a special teams session) was made visible on the internal schedule.

“In the opinion of the NFLPA, placing the meeting on the formal schedule converted it from ‘optional’ to ‘mandatory.’”

Florio then added that the infraction “had nothing to do with activities on the practice field, including whether or not there was impermissible contact.” On-field contact is typically the cause of these offseason violations, as several teams faced similar consequences in recent years.

Last offseason, the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, and Washington Commanders all lost days of OTAs after violating the non-contact rules. Head coaches Mike McCarthy and Ron Rivera also faced $100,000 fines.

While the Patriots infraction does not appear as severe on the surface, they still will lose two days on organized team activities. In total, they will now have eight total days of OTAs before a three-day mandatory minicamp begins in June.

After holding their first two OTAs on Monday and Tuesday, the Patriots are set to return to the field next Wednesday, which will mark the first open practice for the media of the offseason. Head coach Bill Belichick is also scheduled to address the media that day.