The New York Giants gather as a team under the direction of new head coach Ben McAdoo for the first time on Monday to begin Phase One of the offseason program.
Phase One is conditioning only, with no on-field work allowed, and is considered voluntary. The Giants will work as a team in their revamped weight room under the direction of new strength and conditioning coach Aaron Wellman. McAdoo has promised to be more "forward-thinking" in the Giants' approach to conditioning.
Wellman is a first-time NFL coach. Here is what he said recently about the Giants' conditioning program:
"Equipment-wise there's some changes. Our goal is always the same, we want to maximize the strength of our athletes, speed, power, movement efficiency, and minimize orthopedic stress on the body," Wellman said.
"We want to use methods that yield high results at low cost. At the end of the day, it's what you do in that room, not what's in it so much as how you use it."
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Here is the Giants' complete offseason schedule:
- First Day: April 11
- OTA Offseason Workouts: May 23-24, May 26, June 1-3, June 6-7, June 9-10
- Voluntary mini-camp: April 26-28
- Mandatory mini-camp: June 14-16
NFL teams are generally limited to one mandatory mini-camp. The Giants, as one of the teams in the league with a new head coach, have the benefit of being allowed to hold a voluntary mini-camp. Per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, that voluntary mini-camp has to be held after at least one week of Phase One of the offseason program has been held, and most conclude before the NFL Draft, held this year beginning April 28, begins.
Per the CBA, the three phases of the offseason program work as follows:
Phase One consists of the first two weeks of the program with activities limited to strength and conditioning and physical rehabilitation only.
Phase Two consists of the next three weeks of the program. On-field workouts may include individual player instruction and drills as well as team practice conducted on a "separates" basis. No live contact or team offense vs. team defense drills are permitted.
Phase Three consists of the next four weeks of the program. Teams may conduct a total of 10 days of organized team practice activity, or "OTAs". No live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are permitted.
Teams may also hold a rookie mini-camp the first or second week after the conclusion of the draft. Dates for those will be announced at a later time.