Some of the players hit hardest by the lockout are the unrestricted free agents, who not only have no idea how soon they’ll be able to earn a living again, but also have no idea where they’ll play when the 2011 season starts.
One such player is Anthony Adams, who started all 16 games for the Bears last year and is now an unrestricted free agent. In an ordinary offseason, Adams would have already signed somewhere for the biggest payday of his career, and he’d be busy preparing for the upcoming season and, if he chose to sign with a team other than the Bears, getting his family settled in a new city.
Instead, Adams is playing a waiting game.
“I don’t like it. I don’t like the uncertainty,” Adams said told Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times. “It really sucks when you’ve got family, and a kid on the way, and you don’t know where you’re going to be and how long you’ll sign. It’s not ideal, but it’s a part of the business. You have to embrace it, and you have to be ready.”
Adams also realizes that while he was a starter, he’s not a star, and teams won’t be lining up to sign him when the lockout ends. He’ll have to scramble to find a team during a shortened free agency period.
“Guys like me could easily be out of the league and just be forgotten,” Adams said. “It’s got nothing to do with your talent and skill level. It’s just the nature of the business. People can start drafting all these players and fill their rosters up, then they don’t have a spot. That sucks, man.”