U.S. District Attorney Susan Richard Nelson ruled in favor of the NFL players on Monday thereby by lifting the NFL owner imposed lockout after the players filed an injunction rooted in antitrust violations. The NFL owners are in the process of filing a motion to appeal the ruling and are also seeking a stay on Judge Nelson's ruling until the appeal is heard which would likely occur sometime later this summer. This has left players and fans in a sort of limbo as the lockout has been technically lifted yet football operations have yet to begin.
After the ruling on Monday evening many NFL players ventured to their team's athletic facilities with the lockout no longer in place however a vast majority of them were turned away. It has become clear that the owners will not commence the league year until they are forced to by the courts (or in a much more unlikely event they reach a new CBA). In response to the owners action Judge Nelson has given them a deadline of 6 PM Wednesday to make their case as to why the ruling should be put on hold and the lockout kept in place.
What this means is that by as early as this evening we could see the lockout officially lifted and football operations taking place again. This could lead to a very chaotic period as the NFL Draft is set to begin on Thursday night and a number of major trades could start flying especially involving teams with QB needs and high draft picks. There are also around 500 players who are currently free agents and we could see a frenzy of activity as teams look to sign players as no one will know how long the lockout will be lifted.
Of course there is always the possibility that the stay will be granted and no player transactions can take place until much later in the summer. For now it is a waiting game.
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