{"id":407810,"date":"2011-04-29T13:56:06","date_gmt":"2011-04-29T13:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/29\/nfl-players-return-to-work-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-04-29T13:56:06","modified_gmt":"2011-04-29T13:56:06","slug":"nfl-players-return-to-work-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/29\/nfl-players-return-to-work-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL players return to work (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP)\u2014Welcome back, players.<\/p>\n

The NFL cleared the way for some basic football operations to begin at 8 a.m. EDT Friday, five days after a federal judge declared the lockout illegal and nearly seven weeks after it began.<\/p>\n

And the players immediately took advantage.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell leaves the federal courthouse in Minneapolis last week.
(AP)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

About a dozen Carolina Panthers<\/a> players were spotted entering Bank of America Stadium before 9 a.m, when a voluntary meeting was planned and players were expected to receive their playbooks from new coach Ron Rivera.<\/p>\n

One of the first to arrive was quarterback Jimmy Clausen<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> whose job is in jeopardy after Carolina drafted Auburn\u2019s Cam Newton<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> with the No. 1 overall pick on Thursday night. Fellow QBs Tony Pike<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and Matt Moore<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> who is unsigned and recovering from a shoulder injury, also arrived.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Place your vote on Grudge Judge<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen when I walk in the door,\u201d Moore said, \u201cbut I\u2019m happy to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Center Ryan Kalil<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> said the lockout has been good in some ways because he\u2019s been able to rest more and spend more time with his family. But Kalil was eager to reunite with his teammates.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think anyone thought it was going to get to this point and it did. It got uncomfortable I think for everybody,\u201d Kalil said. \u201cIt\u2019s nice there\u2019s a little light at the end of the tunnel, and we get to come back and get out of that funk. We\u2019ll see what happens moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the first time all offseason, players have been cleared to talk with coaches, work out at team headquarters and get playbooks. All were turned away from team facilities in the three days after U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson\u2019s decision Monday to lift the owner-imposed lockout.<\/p>\n

The chain on the Tennessee Titans<\/a>\u2019 main gate was off, and the gate was open Friday morning. Guard Jake Scott<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> the team\u2019s player representative, was among three players who arrived. Scott was turned away on Tuesday and Thursday, when he was met at the locked gate by two armed security guards.<\/p>\n

The owners and players have been embroiled in a bitter battle over how the NFL\u2019s $9 billion pie is sliced, a fight that has been taken to the courts.<\/p>\n

That fight is far from over despite the halting steps back toward football. The league has asked the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis to restore the lockout as soon as possible, hoping for a friendlier venue than the federal courts in Minnesota.<\/p>\n

The NFL also was expected to release detailed guidelines for free agency, trades and other roster moves later Friday in the absence of a collective bargaining agreement. That expired March 11, the same day the players\u2019 union was disbanded to clear the way for a court fight.<\/p>\n

The league wants the appellate court to put Nelson\u2019s decision on hold so it can argue that it should be overturned altogether. The players were told to respond to the league\u2019s motion for a stay by midday Friday, and the NFL\u2019s reply to that is due on Monday morning.<\/p>\n

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who was roundly booed by passionate and impatient fans at Radio City Music Hall on Thursday, said he feared the fight could last for a while. He said he was looking forward to the next round of court-ordered talks on May 16.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that it\u2019s important to get back to that,\u201d the commissioner said. \u201cThat\u2019s the type of thing that should happen: real bargaining across the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

At least now, football activities can take place.<\/p>\n

Mandatory minicamps and voluntary offseason practices can begin under rules of the old CBA. Team-supervised workouts will count toward bonuses in player contracts, and players also can work out on their own at team facilities if they have health insurance in place.<\/p>\n

The league also will arrange for substance abuse and drug programs to start back up, and players can participate in team-sponsored community and charity functions.<\/p>\n

Ten Redskins showed up at the practice facility at Redskins Park in Ashburn, Va., including DeAngelo Hall<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Kedric Golston<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Graham Gano<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and Lorenzo Alexander<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> who was turned away from the workout room the previous three days.<\/p>\n

The Detroit Lions<\/a> already have scheduled organized team activities for Wednesday, and the Bears have set a rookie camp for next weekend. Cleveland Browns<\/a> linebacker Scott Fujita<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> said his team is ready to get to work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI consider us one of the organizations that will legitimately do the right thing with all this,\u201d Fujita said. \u201cGuys who choose to report right away just have to be flexible and realize that if a stay is granted from the appellate court, then we\u2019re locked out again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The longer the lockout is lifted, the better for a rookie class that enters the league with unprecedented uncertainty surrounding their arrival. Getting as much work in as possible, especially for the four quarterbacks taken in the first 12 picks, is paramount as they make the adjustment from college to the NFL.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, it\u2019s going to be huge and for me as a rookie quarterback,\u201d said Florida State\u2019s Christian Ponder<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> after being drafted 12th by the Minnesota Vikings<\/a> on Thursday. \u201cIt\u2019s all about putting in my time and getting myself prepared for whatever role I\u2019m going to have this coming season.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I know I\u2019m going up there (Friday) and I already asked coach if I was going to have a playbook. And he said yeah, there will be one ready for me and we\u2019re going to talk some ball once I get up there so I\u2019m excited about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

AP Football Writers Arnie Stapleton and Barry Wilner and AP Sports Writers Dave Campbell, Mike Cranston, R.B. Fallstrom, Larry Lage, Tom Withers and Joseph White contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

More:
\nNFL players return to work (AP)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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