There were calls for postponements. There were cries about bad optics and insensitivity. Stuck-in-their-ways general managers grumbled about new procedures, new technology, new anything.
Mostly the NFL was under fire, both inside and outside the league, to shut business down the way the NBA, NHL and MLB had. This was a pandemic. People were dying. Layoffs were piling up.
How do we scout anyone? How do we sign anyone? How can business — mostly free agency and the draft — go on as is? Even if this could be done in a new manner, Tom Brady choosing between multimillion dollar offers or a draft pick celebrating his good fortune might seem out of touch as the ICU units overflowed.