PITTSBURGH – This isn't quite the way Anthony McFarland expected his NFL career to begin. Then again, the rookie running back knows he's not the only one whose first taste of the pros is coming via conference calls with members of the coaching staff followed by self-administered tests in a nearby park to see how quickly he's absorbing the playbook.
Pittsburgh's fourth-round draft pick is doing what he can to keep up during the first — and the NFL hopes only — “virtual” offseason amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sure, he'd rather be at the Steelers' practice facility with the rest of the newcomers. That's not possible right now with much of the country under some sort of restriction or social-distancing guidelines.