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NFL free agency started on time but offseason training programs will not.

As announced Monday night in a joint statement by the NFL and the Players Association, the start dates for teams with first-year head coaches (April 6) and all other teams (April 20) were postponed indefinitely based on the opinions of medical personnel and coronavirus guidance from public health officials.

It is unclear whether the teams with new coaches, like the Giants, still will get a two-week jump and an extra three-practice camp over the competition. That advantage was installed in 2018.

The legal tampering period of free-agency negotiations began Monday and deals can be signed beginning at 4 p.m. Wednesday. But teams are prohibited from bringing a player into their facility for a visit or a physical and from sending any of their own personnel to the player until further notice.

NFL facilities are to remain closed to players — except those under contract and receiving medical treatment — through March 31.

A memo sent by the league to teams says, “in the course of contract negotiations, clubs and free agent players are free to agree upon whether or not free agent players will undergo a medical exam in the player’s home city or nearby location as a condition of entering such contract.”

The neutral physical is an interesting new wrinkle. NFL contracts typically are pending physical, so it is possible deals agreed upon this week will fall apart weeks from now if a player fails an exam whenever the ban is lifted.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidelines recommending against gatherings of 50-plus people for at least eight weeks. NFL offseason rosters can be made up of 90 players, before accounting for coaches, trainers, equipment staff and other personnel at a practice.