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Teams go about their routine at NFL combine, but lockout looms over all
By Rick Gosselin / The Dallas Morning News
Published 23 February 2011 09:45 PM
INDIANAPOLIS — The NFL officially begins its draft season with the start of the scouting combine this weekend. It could be the only season the NFL conducts in 2011.
The off-season, preseason and regular season are all in jeopardy as negotiations continue between NFL owners and players for a new collective bargaining agreement.
The current CBA expires March 3. If there is no agreement in place by then — the two sides have been meeting daily this week — the owners plan to lock the players out.
If that occurs, there will be no window of free agency in March. There will be no trades of player contracts or any kind of player movement. There will be no off-season programs or minicamps. NFL buildings essentially will remain dark with the absence of players.
But there will be a draft in April, so there is a scouting combine, which runs through March 1. The top 329 college prospects have been invited to Indianapolis to be measured, tested, timed, interviewed and undergo physical examinations.
The combine is a critical element in the draft process. During the interviews, a player will sit down for private 15-minute sessions with teams. General managers, coaches, assistants, personnel directors and even an owner or two will be in the room asking questions. That will give teams a feel for the player as a person.
The draft prospects also will be given thorough physical examinations to determine their injury history. The cleaner a prospect is medically, the better his chances of getting drafted earlier.
Colleges will continue to conduct pro days on campus in March and April, putting their draft-eligible players on display for touring scouts and coaches. It will be business as usual for the scouting process leading up to the draft April 28-30.
But business changes dramatically after the final selection is made in the seventh round Saturday evening. Choices can be traded during the draft, but the prospects become NFL players the moment they are selected, so they, too, are subject to the lockout.
NFL teams cannot sign them to contracts, nor can teams sign any undrafted players at the conclusion of the draft. So the likelihood of another Frank Zombo popping up in 2011 is small.
Zombo went undrafted out of Central Michigan last April, but signed as a free agent with the Green Bay Packers within minutes of the final pick.
Zombo was able to acclimate himself to Green Bay’s defensive system through the team’s off-season program. That helped him make the team in August, move into the starting lineup in October and collect a sack in the Super Bowl this month.
But NFL teams will not be allowed to sign any Zombos in 2011 until after a collective bargaining agreement is reached. Without the benefit of an off-season program, an undrafted free agent looms as the longest of long shots in 2011.
So after the draft, if there is no collective bargaining agreement, the NFL becomes frozen in time. There will be no player activity of any kind. Teams have already discussed ways to save money by reducing staffs and issuing furloughs during any such lockout.
It will be an off-season unlike any the NFL has ever experienced.
But first, the draft.
By Rick Gosselin / The Dallas Morning News
Published 23 February 2011 09:45 PM
INDIANAPOLIS — The NFL officially begins its draft season with the start of the scouting combine this weekend. It could be the only season the NFL conducts in 2011.
The off-season, preseason and regular season are all in jeopardy as negotiations continue between NFL owners and players for a new collective bargaining agreement.
The current CBA expires March 3. If there is no agreement in place by then — the two sides have been meeting daily this week — the owners plan to lock the players out.
If that occurs, there will be no window of free agency in March. There will be no trades of player contracts or any kind of player movement. There will be no off-season programs or minicamps. NFL buildings essentially will remain dark with the absence of players.
But there will be a draft in April, so there is a scouting combine, which runs through March 1. The top 329 college prospects have been invited to Indianapolis to be measured, tested, timed, interviewed and undergo physical examinations.
The combine is a critical element in the draft process. During the interviews, a player will sit down for private 15-minute sessions with teams. General managers, coaches, assistants, personnel directors and even an owner or two will be in the room asking questions. That will give teams a feel for the player as a person.
The draft prospects also will be given thorough physical examinations to determine their injury history. The cleaner a prospect is medically, the better his chances of getting drafted earlier.
Colleges will continue to conduct pro days on campus in March and April, putting their draft-eligible players on display for touring scouts and coaches. It will be business as usual for the scouting process leading up to the draft April 28-30.
But business changes dramatically after the final selection is made in the seventh round Saturday evening. Choices can be traded during the draft, but the prospects become NFL players the moment they are selected, so they, too, are subject to the lockout.
NFL teams cannot sign them to contracts, nor can teams sign any undrafted players at the conclusion of the draft. So the likelihood of another Frank Zombo popping up in 2011 is small.
Zombo went undrafted out of Central Michigan last April, but signed as a free agent with the Green Bay Packers within minutes of the final pick.
Zombo was able to acclimate himself to Green Bay’s defensive system through the team’s off-season program. That helped him make the team in August, move into the starting lineup in October and collect a sack in the Super Bowl this month.
But NFL teams will not be allowed to sign any Zombos in 2011 until after a collective bargaining agreement is reached. Without the benefit of an off-season program, an undrafted free agent looms as the longest of long shots in 2011.
So after the draft, if there is no collective bargaining agreement, the NFL becomes frozen in time. There will be no player activity of any kind. Teams have already discussed ways to save money by reducing staffs and issuing furloughs during any such lockout.
It will be an off-season unlike any the NFL has ever experienced.
But first, the draft.
