Sources: Pats lose two OTAs over rules violation

Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff WriterMay 24, 2023, 09:15 PM ET
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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots are losing two days of organized team activities due to a violation of offseason rules, league sources told ESPN.

The team had been scheduled for an OTA on Thursday, the first to be attended by reporters this offseason, but the club announced Wednesday that it had been canceled.

Thursday’s OTA, in addition to another next week, were taken away as part of the violation, according to sources. It wasn’t immediately known what the specific violation was.

This week marks the start of the third and final phase of the Patriots’ offseason program, which allows the team a total of 10 OTAs. There is no live contact permitted in OTAs, among other rules as part of Article 21 of the collective bargaining agreement.

The NFL Players Association monitors teams across the NFL for potential violations as part of its standard operating procedure.

The Patriots declined to comment.

In recent seasons, the Cowboys (2021, 2022), Bears (2022), Commanders (2022), Texans (2022), 49ers (2021), Jaguars (2021), Ravens (2018) and Seahawks (2016) have been penalized for violations of offseason rules.