Jaguars agree to offseason start date after NFLPA reportedly files grievance
The Jacksonville Jaguars have received the message loud and clear.
After the NFLPA filed a grievance with the league over the Jaguars' attempt to start their offseason program on April 10, according to ESPN's Dan Graziano, Jacksonville conceded their plans and announced they will start at the league-defined time.
Statement from the @Jaguars on the club's April 17 report date for player offseason workouts.
— Tad Dickman (@Tdickman89) March 29, 2017
League had previously granted April 10 start. pic.twitter.com/z18iST3PiV
According to the collective bargaining agreement, offseason programs are not allowed to begin until April 17, unless a team has hired a new head coach, in which case they may start April 3.
The Jaguars promoted Doug Marrone from interim coach to head coach this offseason, meaning he does not qualify as a new coach, but the team still asked if it could start April 3, a separate source told Graziano. The league offered a compromise that would allow the Jaguars to start their offseason activities April 10, one week early instead of two.
Once the NFLPA learned of this move, it filed the grievance to the league and received the result it was looking for Tuesday night.
This is the third CBA problem the Jaguars have come across this offseason.
Former defensive end Jared Odrick has a grievance pending over a claim that the team owes him $5.5 million in guaranteed salary after releasing him. Vice President Tom Coughlin also sent a letter to players asking them to report early for offseason physicals, which is strictly against the CBA, but that issue has been resolved internally, a source told Graziano.