Teams to let players in starting today

Times wires
Thursday, April 28, 2011

MINNEAPOLIS — Finally, the NFL is getting back to football.

Five days after a federal judge declared the lockout was illegal and nearly seven weeks after it began, the NFL said players can talk with coaches, work out at team headquarters and look at playbooks.

The NFL said all of that can begin today, when it is also expected to release detailed guidelines for free agency, trades and other roster moves in the absence of a collective bargaining agreement.

"That's great news," said linebacker Joe Mays, one of 10 Broncos who showed up at team headquarters Thursday. "It's something we've been trying to do, get back to work."

It was a welcome step forward on a day members of the Titans showed up to find two armed security guards at their locked-up facility, no sign of their new coach. New players in particular will benefit from the new guidelines.

"These rookies, there's a lot going on for them," Giants center Shaun O'Hara said. "So any info they can get, any things they can study, is good."

The league has asked the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis to restore the lockout as soon as possible. The court is considered a friendlier venue for businesses than the federal courts in Minnesota.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell still did not express optimism.

"I think the litigation, unfortunately, could go on for some period of time," he told the NFL Network. He said he looked forward to the next round of court-ordered talks on May 16.

Mandatory minicamps and voluntary offseason practices can begin under rules of the collective bargaining agreement that expired March 11. Team-supervised workouts will count toward bonuses in contracts, and players can work out on their own at team facilities if they have health insurance.

The news came hours after Titans players were unable to access the team's facility. Players were met by what they called "excessive" security when they arrived. Two armed off-duty police officers in uniform joined the team's director of security, Steve Berk, at the only open side gate to the facility. The main gate stayed locked.

VIKINGS CASE: The Minnesota Supreme Court cleared the way for the league to suspend Vikings defensive lineman Pat Williams, perhaps the final chapter in a closely watched anti-doping case. In a one-page order without comment, the court declined to consider Williams' appeal of a decision that went against him and teammate Kevin Williams, who isn't related. The order was signed Wednesday by Chief Justice Lorie Gildea and made public Thursday. Justice Alan Page, a former Viking, did not take part in the decision. The Williamses were to be suspended in 2008 for taking the weight-loss supplement StarCaps, which contained a banned diuretic called bumetanide that can mask steroids. They waged a fight against the suspensions in federal and state courts, and the league let them play pending final resolution of the case.

Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/teams-to-let-players-in-starting-today/1166671

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