Dolphins Begin Virtual Offseason Program

The Dolphins' offseason program was scheduled to start April 20, but everything was thrown off kilter because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Instead, the Dolphins opened their offseason program Monday, though as was the case with the NFL draft it will be done virtually until further notice.

According to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com, the Dolphins were among 20 teams to kick off their virtual offseason program Monday.

The Dolphins will be one of only four teams that will conduct virtual workouts, along with the Buccaneers, Eagles and Ravens, according to Pelissero.

The virtual program will consist of three straight weeks of classroom instruction, workouts and non-football educational programs that use videoconferencing.

The program kicked off last Monday with 12 teams after the league and the NFL Players Association came to an agreement as a response to the coronavirus pandemic.

No on-field work will be allowed until all 32 team facilities re-open.

While this is far from a normal offseason program, Dolphins coach Brian Flores has some clear goals in mind.

"I think there’s a lot of work that has to be done from now until the start of the season, whether it’s virtual meetings to hopefully getting back together, getting on the field and getting 90 guys on the same page, 11 guys on the same page," Flores said Saturday. "It’s a team of teams, so the nickel group’s got to get on the same page. The dime group’s got to get on the same page. The 21-personnel offense has got to get on the same page and the 11-personnel’s got to get on the same page.

"There’s a lot that goes into it, so we’ve got a long, long way to go – a long, long way to go. I think it starts with the virtual meetings and then when the time comes when we come together and get to practice and get to walkthrough. A lot of hard work has to be done first to become a good team."

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Alain Poupart has covered the Miami Dolphins full time since 1989. You can follow him on Twitter at @apoupartFins.

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