Although NFLPA* chief DeMaurice Smith is urging players not to get their hopes up that the lockout will end soon, Bills safety George Wilson, the team’s NFLPA* representative, said that after hearing from Smith this week he’s feeling good about where things are going.
“We’re definitely optimistic we’re moving in the right direction,” Wilson told the Associated Press. “Right now we feel like we’re having meaningful discussions. . . . We feel we have the right people in the room, discussing the right things and both sides want to get a deal done. But even though we’re moving in the right direction, we’re not there yet.”
By saying that the right people are in the room, Wilson is using the same NFLPA* talking point that Smith used after the latest round of negotiations wrapped up Thursday. Wilson also said, “There’s definitely going to be talks every week because time is of the essence,” in a sign that the NFLPA* thinks the right people will remain in the room.
Still, one source told the AP “not much progress” was made in the fourth round of recent meetings, in Boston this week. If they’ve got the right people in the room and they’re still not making much progress, that would have to temper any optimism.