Uncategorized News & Rumors

The league and the NFLPA agreed on Wednesday to some updated components within the drug program and the testing procedures associated with it.

Perhaps the main update is the inclusion of synthetic marijuana to the list of banned substances. Also known as Spice, Blaze or K2, the drug was not previously part of the league’s testing panel despite being illegal in most states. It also was involved in two strange sequences last year. Chandler Jones showed up at the Foxborough Police Dept. seeking medical attention after having reportedly used it, and former Seahawks fullback Derrick Coleman was involved in a hit-and-run incident after using the substance, per a police report.

This appears to tighten the league’s grip on marijuana despite the country loosening its. The agreement also increases the scope of the testing for HGH, which was already a part of the banned-substances list.

Additionally, players must now provide urine samples within four hours of being notified for a substance-abuse test. Recording of the tests is also not permitted, clearing up a subject that emerged when James Harrison attempted to film a drug test in May after having done so in the past. The filming prohibitions apply to both tests for substances of abuse and performance-enhancing drugs.

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While it’s not quite the lofty underclassman combine we heard over the summer was being discussed, next year will bring expanded scouting for future draft picks.

The NFL and American Football Coaches’ Association agreed to a setup that will allow NFL scouts to do some advanced work on prospects whom schools deem bound for future NFL drafts. Starting in February 2017, Division I-FBS schools will be able to select five underclassmen whom they categorize as possible 2018 selections. These players will be able to test and work out for scouts at their schools’ pro days during the spring.

Schools can request more underclassmen be available to work out for scouts at pro days designed for that year’s seniors and declared early-entry prospects, provided the NFL determines they are, in fact, potential draft commodities down the line. This will allow teams to gather more data on prospects as they determine future values, Chase Goodbread of NFL.com writes. The prospects who will be granted access to pro days are not eligible to enter that year’s draft, but instead this is only to help teams and players for the future.

“While there is no question that obtaining a college degree is a transformative experience for so many people in society and a goal to which we encourage everyone to aspire to, for those talented few individuals that have the ability to succeed in the NFL prior to exhausting their college football eligibility, this new agreement will ensure they have better information with which to make their decision,” NFL executive VP Troy Vincent said.

Both Urban Meyer and Nick Saban advocated this summer for advanced scouting regarding underclassmen in an effort to provide them better understanding of their draft status for when they become draft-eligible or decide to enter. As it stands now, underclassmen apply for feedback from the NFL college advisory committee in December and usually receive it in January, per Goodbread. For the players who receive the benefit of working out for scouts a year early, they should have more to go on when making their decision in advance of the next draft.

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Earlier this month, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer revealed that he was working to develop some form of a combine for underclassmen, and added that he had discussed the issue with Alabama head coach Nick Saban in the past. Saban, meanwhile, has taken a step further, and plans to meet with the NFL about the possibility, according to Chase Goodbread of NFL.com.

“I think the NFL is very much interested in this,” Saban said on Wednesday. “We have a meeting scheduled in the near future to discuss some ways to implement this.”

NCAA juniors don’t currently have a venue in which to work out for NFL scouts, coaches, and front office personnel without first declaring for the draft, and Meyer said in early July that would like to see an opportunity for underclass players to showcase their skills without losing their eligibility. “It’s not a process that’s well done right now,” said Meyer at a youth football camp. “There’s a rule that says the NFL can’t look at juniors. Well of course the NFL [scouts] are going to look at a junior. And they should look at a junior.” The only feedback underclassmen receiver from the league at the moment is from the NFL Draft Advisory Board, which projects juniors’ draft stock in January prior to the draft.

“There is a cross-section of people out there who maybe aren’t giving young men responsible information about making this decision, which is indicative of 107 guys going out for the draft last year. Probably at least half of those guys probably shouldn’t have made that decision relative to whether they didn’t get picked, or where they got picked,” said Saban. “They’d have been better off enhancing their draft status by staying in school and developing as a player. There is a group of people out there not being responsible on how they help these guys, and create unrealistic expectations of what their future might be as a football player based on where they are in their development.”

Saban has offered solutions to this problem in the past, but as Goodbread has previously noted, Saban’s proposal would involve pro day-esque events at every college campus, which would only serve to increase the required hours put in by NFL staffs. Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema has also suggested allowing undrafted players to return to college, an idea that is fraught with problems, per Goobread.

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The last time Ray Rice appeared in a regular season NFL game, it was December of 2013. Close to three years later, the 29-year-old is still attempting a comeback.

Despite a general lack of interest from around the league, the three-time Pro Bowler recently said that he’s not giving up hope on a return to the NFL. However, Rice did admit that “the window for playing is closing.”

“I’m training, but I’m more training for life,” Rice told James Kratch of NJ.com. “I think it’s safe to say that football … I don’t want to ever say I’m giving up, because that’s never going to be me … I’m happy. I’m in the best shape of my life, and I know if it doesn’t happen this year, it’s probably something I have to deal with. But you know what? It’s not the end of my life.

“I know that the window for playing is closing. But if my window closes, I’m going to make sure I open up a thousand more opportunities for kids, to give them an opportunity to pick up where I left off. That’s where I’m at. I’ve got three Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl. There’s a lot of people that can’t go out there and do what I did. But I don’t want it to end that way, it’s safe to say.”

As Kratch recalls, Rice was arrested for assaulting his then-fiancee (and current wife) in 2014. A video was released showing the star striking his significant other, and the running back was subsequently released from the Ravens.

The 2008 second-round pick had an impressive run from 2009 through 2012, when he averaged 1,267 rushing yards, 610 receiving yards, and close to 10 touchdowns a season. His 2013 campaign was a bit underwhelming, as the then-26-year-old rushed for 660 yards on 214 carries, resulting in a career-low 3.1 average per attempt.

This 2013 performance could explain why Rice has yet to catch on with an NFL squad. Kratch also mentions the belief that the running back has been “blackballed” by the NFL after commissioner Roger Goodell‘s mishandling of the player’s suspension. Over the past few years, Rice has been connected to a handful of teams, including the Bills and Browns.

In the meantime, Rice is trying to reach as many young athletes as possible. He was recently asked to speak to the Rutgers football team, and he also shared his lessons with the Ravens crop of rookies. While Rice appreciates the opportunity to mentor these athletes, he still hopes to participate in the actual sport.

“I have to let the chips fall,” Rice said. “Everyone wants to know why (he has not gotten a second chance), and I want to know the same [answer]. I feel like if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. It’s not going to be on my terms. It’s going to be by the grace of God and my faith, for an owner to just say, ‘This guy deserves a second chance.’

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes. I’m not naive of anything that happened in my life. I’m definitely going to continue to take full responsibility for it. We do know it was a national controversy. I’m not hiding from it. I owned everything.

“But I know for a fact I can make a team better, I can make a locker room better. And I know 100 percent that I can make a community better.”

Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said today that he’s working in tandem with the American Football Coaches Association to develop some form of a combine for underclassmen, according to Zac Jackson of Pro Football Talk. NCAA juniors don’t currently have a venue in which to work out for NFL scouts, coaches, and front office personnel without first declaring for the draft, and Meyer would like to see an opportunity for underclass players to showcase their skills without losing their eligibility.

“It’s not a process that’s well done right now,” said Meyer at a youth football camp. “There’s a rule that says the NFL can’t look at juniors. Well of course the NFL [scouts] are going to look at a junior. And they should look at a junior.

“We’re going to try to get something where there’s a time those [scouts] can actually come in and they can work out the juniors. Because information is good. [The players] are getting their information somewhere, so why not get it from the experts — the scouts, the general managers, people who have the right information? They’re getting it from agents and they’re getting it from wannabes, and that’s not good information.”

As Jackson notes, Alabama head coach Nick Saban has expressed support for an underclassman combine, and Meyer said he’s spoken with Saban about the issue in the past. But as Chase Goodbread of NFL.com notes, Saban’s proposal would involve pro day-esque events at every college campus, which would only serve to increase the required hours put in by NFL staffs. Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema has also suggested allowing undrafted players to return to college, an idea that is fraught with problems, per Goobread.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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The NFL and the NFLPA have agreed to continue having 10-man practice squads for the 2016 and 2017 seasons, according to Mark Dominik of ESPN (on Twitter). One notable change has been made, however. Previously, teams were allowed to sign a maximum of two players who have up to two accrued seasons of NFL experience while the other eight players had to fall within a limited range of 53-man roster time. Now, teams can have up to four players with two accrued NFL seasons.

At the end of August, the claiming period for players waived during final roster cutdowns will conclude, and, at that point, teams are free to start signing players to their practice squads. While practice squad players aren’t eligible to play in regular season games, they practice with their team’s active players during the week, and receive a weekly salary. For the 2016 season, the minimum weekly salary for practice squad players is $6,900, though teams are permitted to offer more than that in an attempt to entice players to sign to their squad rather than join another club. In 2017, that number will jump to $7,200 per week.

Of course, practice squad players are under contract, but the fact that they’re not on an active roster means they’re free to sign with another NFL team if the opportunity arises. That new team must add the player to its 53-man active roster, however. The practice squad system allows teams to keep a group of players in reserve in the event of an injury and provides young players an opportunity to develop their skills and make an impression on team personnel. Thanks to this week’s win-win agreement between the league and the players’ union, the 10-man practice squad structure will remain in place for at least the next two years.