The San Francisco 49ers have offered some clarity on a rule that has previously impacted rookies during the offseason workout program. The NFL used to have a rule that prevented rookies who had not graduated from school from participating in their new team’s offseason workout program until after their post-draft final exams ended. This had little impact on players on a semester calendar, with finals in early May. However, players at schools with a quarter system were left waiting until early June for final exams to end.
I say “used to have,” because the rule no longer exists, as confirmed by the 49ers VP of Communications, Bob Lange. We had a discussion about this earlier in the week. A rule was mentioned last October, but I had not seen any subsequent follow-up. Here’s how it stands:
@dmainy_13 has not been lied to. He is permitted to be with his team per a rule change. He must be given adequate time to complete his coursework while with the team. The team must also cover travel too and from any finals that must be taken.
— Bob Lange (@49ersPR) May 3, 2018
So there you have it. Dante Pettis went to Washington, which is on the quarter system. In previous years he would have been left waiting until June to get started with the 49ers following rookie minicamp. Now, he will be permitted to continue practicing with the team through OTAs and minicamp. For a rookie, that is critical to his development.