Patriots

Patriots reportedly lose two OTA practices due to violation of league rules

The Patriots will now only be able to hold eight OTA sessions during this stage of the NFL offseason.

By Conor Ryan

May 24, 2023

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On Wednesday afternoon, the Patriots announced that they were canceling Thursday’s organized team activity (OTA) session at Gillette Stadium.

It appears the cancellation wasn’t their call after all.

According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, the Patriots are losing out on two days of OTAs due to a violation of league rules. 

It’s unclear what rule the team broke to warrant the penalty from the league. Along with Thursday’s practice, New England will lose an OTA the following week. New England was scheduled for OTAs on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday of next week.

As part of the third phase of the NFL offseason, the Patriots were allowed to hold 10 OTAs, which are voluntary, non-padded, and non-contact practices. Once OTAs wrap, the Patriots will hold a mandatory three-day minicamp (June 12-14) before the league takes another extended break.

New England will now only be afforded eight OTAs, which began earlier this week at Foxborough.

The Patriots are far from the first team to be docked OTAs for offseason rule violations.

The Bears lost one OTA session last year due to holding a live-contact practice, while the Jaguars, Cowboys, and 49ers were all fined in 2021 and lost practices due to OTA violations.