NFL to hold veteran FA combine

[Prime Time]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ost-veteran-combine-for-free-agents-in-march/

NFL to host veteran combine for free agents in March
Posted by Darin Gantt on January 15, 2015

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With the emergence of regional combines which allow through-the-cracks rookies to get a chance before NFL scouts, the NFL has now decided to offer veterans the same chance.

The league sent out a memo to teams, which PFT has obtained a copy of, which outlines their plan for the first Veteran Combine on March 22.

The event will allow veteran free agents to go through the same kinds of drills and testing draft prospects go through in Indianapolis, with representatives of all 32 clubs on hand.

Veteran free agents have been allowed at regional rookie combines in recent years, but this gives teams a chance to get a like-for-like look at guys who have played in the league.

Players can apply with the league, and around 100 will be chosen to appear at the event, which will be held at the Cardinals training facility, just before the owner’s meeting in Phoenix.

It’s a good idea to give veteran players a chance to hang on, and it also provides some more television inventory possibilities for a league that’s tryting to expand into every nook and cranny of the calendar.

 

[Boffo97]

That's actually a pretty good idea.

Must not have come from Goodell...

 

[RamsJunkie]

I like it!

 

[A55VA6]

Yeah, I like this too. Good move by the NFL.

 

[TheDYVKX]

I love this idea. Might mean veteran FAs who really should be playing actually get those jobs. Too many times I've seen players that should be signed, not get signed.

 

[Prime Time]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...bine-2015-announced-date-details-and-reaction

NFL Veteran Combine 2015 Announced: Date, Details and Reaction
By Adam Wells, Featured Columnist Jan 15, 2015

The NFL Combine is no longer just for rookies. In an effort to bring veteran free agents together, the league will be hosting a combine for veterans in 2015.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, citing a memo sent from the NFL, the Veteran Combine will take place in Arizona on March 22.

There's already a website set up for veteran free agents to sign up and take part in the event. It asks for all of the typical information like name, address and if you were on an NFL roster during the 2014 playing season. There is also a $400 participation fee and all players selected to attend must pass a physical.

Bleacher Report National NFL Writer Michael Schottey likes this idea in theory, though he also sees what the league is trying to do: A veteran combine is a good idea, but the NFL is literally making stuff up to not have a developmental league.

The date for the combine is unusual because free agency is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. ET on March 10. There are obvious veteran free agents who won't need a public workout to get a new contract. Ndamukong Suh, for instance, isn't going to be on the market very long.

For the mid- and lower-tier free agents, who aren't going to have teams knocking on their door on March 10, this does give them a chance to showcase what they can do for NFL teams. It's certainly no guarantee that a player will stick. Given the choice, teams could prefer instead to go with late-round draft picks or undrafted rookie free agents to fill out their roster, hoping to catch lightning in a bottle.

 

[Ramhusker]

I'd imagine this was a player's union idea. It makes too much sense to be coming from management.

 

[CGI_Ram]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12172630/nfl-hold-combine-veteran-free-agents

NFL combines will take on an older look when the league adds one for veteran players to go with the massive event it holds for potential draftees.

The veterans combine will take place March 22 at the Arizona Cardinals' training facility in Phoenix. That is about one month after the regular combine for rookies in Indianapolis.

"This is the natural evolution of our combine series," NFL director of football development Matt Birk told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Birk sent a memo to the 32 teams earlier in the day about the new combine. It will be open to veteran free agents who will participate in position-specific drills, timing and testing, and other customary combine activities.

"There's a void there. There was nothing for that guy out there who has one or two or three years in the league and is not with a team and is at the mercy of when the phone rings or when his agent gets him a workout. This will be a forum for these guys to showcase their talents and a service for our clubs instead of [what had been] an inefficient process.''

In the past, most veteran free agents would get individual offseason trials with teams, but that was a costly and somewhat scattered approach. Some veterans have been included in the NFL's regional combines held for draft-eligible players, too.

But the new format will serve to isolate and consolidate veteran free agents so teams can evaluated them against one another.

Scheduling the combine the day before the league's major owners meeting at the same site will allow for just about anyone interested in the evaluation process to attend.

The league expects to invite about 100 free agents to the Arizona combine.

"You're talking the NFL free agent who is one year out of college and was in a training camp, or a 10-year veteran who has been a starter in the league," Birk said. "It will be very diverse, although at first it probably will tilt toward the younger guys."

One thing it won't likely include is the poking and prodding and physical exams that the rookie prospects go through in Indianapolis. Nor will the in-depth interview process be a major portion of the veterans combine.

"This will allow teams to get a look at the guys, and if they want to dive deeper, they can bring the players in for a physical with their own doctors, and do the interviews,'' Birk said. "This is whether the players pass the eye test on the field."

 

[Robocop]

wow that's actually pretty cool. wtf why didn't the league think of this years ago

 

[mr.stlouis]

Hmm, very good for the FA vets to get the first eyeball test. It's like a last chance for them or more money. Good for them

 

[DaveFan'51]

This sounds like something that could save teams a lot of Time and Money, but only 100 invitee's sound like a smallish sampling!

 

[blackbart]

Hey that is a great idea, something new and innovative from the league. Excellent

 

[Boffo97]

Where are you getting that from?

 

[Boffo97]

Good points... but I would argue that this Combine really isn't for those top guys anyway. Teams know they want them, so all the Combine could do is hurt them (perhaps literally). It's just like the top draft picks usually skip the Rookie Combine as well.

However, this would help the more fringe cases, which I do think would include some starters.

 

[jjab360]

That's pretty cool, I don't expect any of the big name FAs to participate, though.

 

[blackbart]

If they were on teams that did not make the playoffs that would essentially be 3 months, right? Even more time than some of the top college prospects.

I guess we don't know until it has a chance to run for a few years to see how many gems are discovered through the process. It does get more of the "product" in front of more of the "buyers"