The date was April 20. Late afternoon, nine days before the NFL draft. And Vikings general manager Rick Spielman was alone, walking laps around the team's indoor field at TCO Performance Center.
"I sent everyone home early," he said.
For Spielman, the brief pause on this particular day was necessary. The guilty verdicts against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd had just been read.
"It's such an emotional time for everybody," Spielman said. "I just felt people needed a break to be home with their families."
The NFL's unrelenting drumbeat resumed the next morning, a continuation of a blistering pace the likes of which even Spielman has never seen.