Lions break offseason contact rule, lose OTA practice | National Sports

The Detroit Lions will lose one OTA practice after the NFL and the players’ union found they violated rules governing physical contact in the offseason. The Lions announced Friday night that their practice scheduled for next Monday had been forfeited. “On Friday evening the organization was made aware by the NFL and NFLPA that Organized Team Activities (OTA) practices held the week of May 27 violated player work rules pertaining to on-field physical contact pursuant to the Collective Bargaining Agreement,” the Lions said in a statement posted to social media. “As a result, the team’s OTA practice scheduled for Monday, June 10 has been forfeited. We take very seriously the rules set forth within the NFL’s Offseason Program and have worked to conduct our practices accordingly. We will continue to be vigilant with our practices moving forward.” The NFL offseason rules say, among other things, that contact work is prohibited. Examples include “‘live’ blocking, tackling, pass rushing,” and “bump-and-run” contact. Players are not supposed to wear pads other than knee and elbow pads. Field Level Media