We don’t envy NFL general managers after the lockout ends. They will have to sign undrafted free agents, re-sign their own free agents, handle the rest of the free agent market, and sign their own draft picks.
They will have to do all that at once in a new system of rules with training camp starting soon thereafter. (Or immediately.)
Bucs G.M. Mark Dominik joined Florio on The Dan Patrick Show to talk about how things will be prioritized after the lockout ends. Dominik says the undrafted free agents should quickly be signed first. The next priority will be veteran free agents, and the final item on the list will be signing the rookies.
It’s a logical order. As Dominik said, the rookies are already part of the organization.
We expect many teams to take a similar approach, which means that plenty of NFL rookies could wind up missing more practice time in training camp because they are unsigned.