BIG CHANGES CONSIDERED FOR NFL OFFSEASON?

Due to the economic crisis, the unresolved future of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and other reasons, the NFL could be pondering major changes to its offseason schedule, according to Mike Holbrook of Pro Football Weekly. Citing “multiple inside sources,” Holbrook writes that league insiders would like to move the NFL draft to late February with the free agent signing period to be held late in March. “They need to get the draft put ahead of free agency,” a league source said. Of course, that would accelerate the rest of the scouting process, including the Scouting Combine and all-star games like the Senior Bowl. And it would decrease teams’ reliance on big free agency spending in another potential cost-cutting measure for a league that has been cutting jobs and expenses. Such a change would also probably create a lull in the NFL from May to June. According to a top executive, that’s exactly what NFL employees need. “Some way, somehow, the NFL needs to find a way to give the league more of a break,” the unnamed executive said. “It’s like a treadmill that keeps getting faster and faster. They need to have a bigger window between the draft and free agency, regardless of which one comes first.”