Notes: Roger Goodell expects NFL stadiums to be full in 2021

As the NFL continues to plan their offseason schedule in the midst of the pandemic, the commission Roger Goodell publicly expressed a huge sense of optimism for the upcoming season.

“We want to see every one of our fans back,” Goodell told the media on Tuesday afternoon. “We expect to have full stadiums in the coming season.”

Last year, many NFL teams closed the stadium to the public for the entire season. Throughout the entire league, attendance was down more than 90 percent, causing a significant loss in revenue that caused an eight percent drop in salary cap for the 2021 season.

However, the NFL is already trending in the right direction this year. Last year, the league was forced to cancel all offseason activities prior to training camp. But on Tuesday, the league notified teams that they would be allowed to proceed with Phase 1 of the offseason on April 19, which allows for player workouts at the team’s facility.

There is one stipulation, and it unfortunately affects the Detroit Lions specifically. During a normal offseason, teams with a new head coach would be able to start Phase 1 of the offseason a few weeks earlier than other teams. However, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, that stipulation will not be in effect. All teams will be able to start the offseason program on the same date. The Lions, despite having new head coach Dan Campbell, will not get the typical head start.

There’s still a long way to go before we get back to a sense of normalcy in life and in the NFL, but we’re starting to see some serious strides.

• Justin Rogers of the Detroit News had a great one-on-one interview with new Lions defensive tackle Michael Brockers. The article, which is behind a paywall, talks about the shock of being traded. It also has some juicy details on what to expect from Detroit’s new defensive scheme:

• Are the Lions about to take another tight end in the top 10? Kyle Meinke of MLive is the latest to take a #PittStop and talk about the possibility of Kyle Pitts in Detroit.

• Tuesday is Lomas Brown’s birthday! Celebrate it by listening to our conversation with Lomas from back in October.

• The fellas at The Athletic managed to trade down in their latest mock. See what a full five-round draft would look like here. (subscription required)

• As National Reading Month comes to a close, here’s Tyrell Crosby reading Brown Bear, Brown Bears, What Do You See?

• Tuesday was a big day for college pro days. Chris Spielman and tight ends coach Ben Johnson went to Ohio State to check out Justin Fields and many others. Lions general manager Brad Holmes was reportedly there, too.