Lockout Over!!!

Finally!!1

About time too. Good stuff

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Live coverage of NFL Network over on the NFL website. No sign ups etc.

Just watched D. Smith and Goodell's joint press conference. About time!

Let the madness begin!

I'm ing at the thought of this free agency

So glad it's over, slightly annoyed I go on holiday on thursday and will miss the craziest part of free agency, still hopefully I'll come back to some interesting headlines and maybe a busier 606v2.

At last, bring on the madness of free agency

It really is going to be madness with all the trades, UFA and draft signings and camp stuff to sort out all at the same time too!

Baseball won't be number 1!

Only messing, good to see its over and there is a full season. Should be a good atmosphere here on Sunday nights.

I'm at a ridiculous work retreat until Friday so I'm going to be relying on you guys to keep me updated.

I heard signings from Friday but is that UFAs as well? Or are they from tomorrow?

Where might Herzlich land?

I believe there are no signings barring UFA and your own draft picks until 6pm Friday... but you can negotiate with your own or other teams as of tomorrow.
Players can be cut from Thursday.

Something like that

GB1919 wrote:I'm at a ridiculous work retreat until Friday so I'm going to be relying on you guys to keep me updated.

I heard signings from Friday but is that UFAs as well? Or are they from tomorrow?

Where might Herzlich land?

Today at 6pm US time clubs will get a list of unrestricted and restricted free agents.
Tomorrow players that were drafted will be able to be signed by teams. Also undrafted players will be able to be signed by franchises.
Trades can also start from 10am tomorrow. as can discussions between all teams and all FA's
However these FA's cant be signed till friday 6pm. So the activity that day should be crazy

All done - players ratify CBA, never in doubt but a milestone closer to getting the thing signed and looking forward to football

Yeah, some Steelers players were making noise that they would not ratify the CBA till Goodell's powers regarding player discipline were curtailed. But nothing came of it.

Let me guess, Harrison ?
LOL

"It has been widely reported that the Steelers voted against the new CBA. Per a league source with knowledge of the voting, 78 players voted against the CBA, and six players voted in favor of it." http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/08/05/steelers-voted-78-6-against-cba/

"The NFL has yet to publicly declare that a supplemental draft will be held in 2011. Chris Mortensen reports that the league office has informed teams that a supplemental draft will be conducted on August 17." http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/08/08/league-says-supplemental-draft-will-occur-on-august-17/

Not entirely convinced there should be a supplementary draft this year, every teams plans are rushed this year and as most have a roster of 85-90 already I'm not sure what the benefit is of increasing this further only for it to be slashed 3 weeks later. Not forgetting the 2011 cap is less than the last cap year (2009)

Agreed. I can't see a team giving up next years pick for someone that's not going to get many reps between now and game 1. None of the predicted prospects have the stand out abilities that a sane GM would take a risk on.

Not sure what the regulations are, but anyone know if can they try out as UFA's if they don;t go in the supplemental draft?

I seem to remember hearing on an ESPN podcast that they can't be UFAs unless there is a Supplemental Draft that they go through the process of but maybe I heard that wrong and the new CBA could well have changed the rules anyway.

The only player that I've heard talk about actually being picked up is Terrelle Pryor but I imagine someone would give up a low round draft pick for him.

Pryor shouldn't be eligible for the Supplemental draft: "league spokesman Greg Aiello explained rules of the supplemental draft to Fox Sports' Alex Marvez.

"If there are no players eligible for a supplemental draft, there is no supplemental draft," he said. "It is for players whose circumstances have changed in an unforeseen way after the regular (college) draft. It is not a mechanism for simply bypassing the regular (draft)."

Pryor had not been kicked off his team, nor had he been declared academically ineligible. He also has not graduated. Pryor decided to forgo his senior season." http://www.profootballweekly.com/2011/07/30/report-pryor-ineligible-for-supplemental-draft

One player I heard will be eligible is Caleb King who was a RB for the University of Georgia, as he has been ruled academically ineligible.

If Pryor plays in the NFL it likely won't be at QB as he has accuracy issues (not to mention personality issues many NFL teams will want to avoid).

He's likely to be an experiment at WR or even TE due to his size and speed. I wouldn't waste a pick on an experiment.

King is reported as being a good between the tackles runner, but lacking the top speed needed to run away from defenders. If he makes the NFL he'll have a specialist role. Again, not worth a draft pick with all the undrafted players out there.

I had heard that quote but I also read somewhere that the perception is it that Pryor would be allowed through a supplemental draft. This was some time ago though.

While there are lots of questions around him, and doubts about whether he could line up as QB there will always be a team willing to take a gamble on an experiment-type player.

Pryor is planning a Pro Day on Friday despite not knowing if he will be eligible for the supplemental draft: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/08/08/report-pryor-plans-friday-pro-day/

Yeah, but would you use up a draft pick on him? This could be quite a valuable pick and all a team will have to measure him by is college footage and testimonials. He hasn't worked out for teams and couldn't take part in the combine, so teams normal pre-draft scouting process is largely out the window.

If this kid wanted to be an NFL QB, he should have stayed in school another year. If he just wants to play anywhere, I would question his motivation in dropping out. I certainly wouldn't draft him.

That said, I wodner what odds are on the Skins going after him.

According to Wikipedia: "On June 26, 2011, Pryor was banned from all contact with the university's athletic program and new incoming recruits."

As he hasn't been kicked out of the university could he not unsign with Drew Rousenhaus and transfer to another university to play the season?

@AlbertBreerAlbert Breer
It's August 9 -- And the first of the new CBA's anti-holdout rules hits. Every player who hasn't reported today loses year toward FA.

Yeah, there was some question about whether he would be eligible since he decided not to return to the Buckeyes, but then the university came out with its letter saying he was banned from contact with the team for a period of five years, I believe.

If for some reason you really really want to read a 318 page document you can find the CBA here: http://www.nflplayers.com/Articles/CBA-News/2011-Collective-Bargaining-Agreement/

skins4ever wrote:That said, I wodner what odds are on the Skins going after him.

Whatever the odds are, the Redskins will be attending his pro day, so are the Cowboys.

"Everything we've heard on Pryor suggests that a fifth-round supplemental draft pick is the most it'd be worth giving up for the chance that he molds his considerable raw talents into a productive NFL career. And most people I've talked to think, if that happens, he's more likely to be an NFL receiver than an NFL quarterback. But both the Cowboys and the Redskins have a need at the receiver position right now, so why not go take a look? Might just stumble onto something that could help." http://espn.go.com/blog/nfceast/post/_/id/29409/cowboys-redskins-to-attend-pryor-workout



Edit:
@espn_nfceastESPN Blogs NFC East
Yes, and as soon as that last post went up, reports surface that Pryor is not eligible for supplemental draft. Carry on. Nothing to see here