The Falcons will be docked three days of Organized Team Activities in the spring of 2017 due to a violation of offseason workout rules in May of this past year, the league announced on Thursday.
Atlanta participated in practices that featured "excessive levels of on-field physical contact," which are banned in the collective bargaining agreement. According to a release sent out by the league, Falcons players will continue to get paid during the cancelled practices.
While it seems like a minor penalty, coaches are already unhappy about the amount of time they have to get a massive 90-man roster prepared for training camp -- hence the temptation to maximize spring workouts in the first place. As those challenges mount, coaches have devoted more time to classroom work during the offseason in the hopes that a new playbook can be digested by late July.
"We take player safety very seriously and work hard to ensure that we are in compliance with league rules," the Falcons wrote in a statement Thursday. "Although we are disappointed in the penalty, we respect the league's decision and will make the necessary adjustments moving forward."
Head coach Dan Quinn will just have to get creative next spring.
