NFL considering one-time clock extension for draft day trade talks

The 2020 NFL Draft is scheduled to happen April 23rd to 25th in spite of the coronavirus pandemic. The league is practicing social distancing for the event, with most teams expected to be spread around their community rather than in the usual war room.

The league is going to allow each team to convene small groups of 10 or fewer people in one room, but they must practice social distancing — keeping at least six feet apart. While social distancing requires more than this, the league has decided it’s comfortable with some measure of risk fo exposure.

The NFL is also looking at an option to deal with potential lags in communication between teams that could happen due to the distancing efforts. Pro Football Talk is reporting that league vice president Troy Vincent said the NFL is looking into allowing teams more time to complete a trade when they are on the clock. Vincent said it could be a one-time exemption for each team.

This will be something to track during the three days of the draft as the clock winds down for a given team. If there’s a delay, we might be seeing a trade in the works. In the later rounds it would be difficult to assess given how much time it takes to hear a pick announced after the clock has run its course. This might prove more interesting in day one when there is more of a schedule to keep on television.