TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady’s accidental “QB sneak” that made news last week — when he entered the home of offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich’s neighbor instead of Leftwich’s house — did more than provide a few laughs around the NFL.
It led to multiple teams inquiring if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers violated the NFL’s “dead period” prior to the virtual offseason program, the league confirmed Tuesday.
The NFL investigated and determined that no violation of offseason work rules occurred.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, NFL players and nonessential personnel are forbidden from entering team facilities and from conducting the league’s originally scheduled offseason programs, which includes classroom instruction and conditioning. Instead, the NFL created a virtual offseason program for teams, which started Monday for teams with returning coaches.
The program is strictly virtual and consists of three weeks of classroom instruction via video conferencing. It also includes virtual workouts and non-football educational programs.
The concern among teams that reached out to the league was that in-person instruction was taking place. A source close to the situation told ESPN last week that Brady was merely coming over to retrieve a playbook, which is consistent with the league’s findings that were first reported by NFL Network.
ESPN’s Dianna Russini contributed to this report.
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