The NFL season has been over for about two weeks now, and with that realization comes one question and one question only:
When is football coming back?
Fear not, football fans. While the 2015 season will not open until September 10th in Foxborough, the NFL Off-season will keep football in the limelight for several months to come. It all starts with the NFL Scouting Combine, running from February 17th to February 23rd. All of the top draft prospects will be on hand in the hopes of impressing scouts and General Managers alike.
With a season of game tape compiled on these young men, the events of the Combine give NFL front offices the opportunity to get a better look at the measurables of their potential draft targets and make all the necessary adjustments to their draft boards. While many debate the true importance of said measurables as opposed to what the prospects show on tape, no one can argue the impact that these events have on a player’s draft stock.
The events of the combine are important to be sure, but the stakes are raised when NFL free agency opens on March 10th. Put simply, football’s version of March Madness is a truly captivating time of the year. The window for clubs to begin negotiating with other teams’ free agents begins three days prior to the free agency period and as such, there should be some enormous money doled out on day one of the signing period.
While there is still a lengthy window for teams to negotiate long term contracts with, or apply the franchise tag to their own free agents, as it stands right now this is shaping up to be on of the better free agent classes in recent memory. With players like Ndamukong Suh, Demaryius Thomas, Dez Bryant, DeMarco Murray, Jason Pierre-Paul and countless other superstars all scheduled to become unrestricted free agents on March 10th, it’s shaping up to be one of the most exciting times of the off-season. Certainly, many of the big-name stars will return to their current clubs with long-term deals or franchise tags, but the sheer depth of this free agent class assures that there will be some big-time players on the move.
After the insanity of the free agent signing period winds down, the NFL looks to it’s prime-time Draft spectacular. The 80th annual NFL Draft runs from April 30th to May 2nd and hits the road in 2015, emanating from Chicago after many years at the Radio City Music Hall in New York. It is here that all of the scouting and analysis finally comes to fruition as NFL franchises welcome their newest players to the big time. The National Football League always delivers the most exciting, entertaining and monumental draft in all of professional sports, and with many of the top prospects on hand to walk across the stage and live their dream, the 2015 iteration should be no different. All we can say with certainty right now is that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are on the clock.
The truth is, even when there are no games being played, the NFL isn’t very far from the forefront of public consciousness. While it is common for fans to experience football withdrawal at this time of year, there is still a great deal to get excited about. Teams are built and championships are won just as much at this time of the year as they are between September and February. Don’t miss a moment of what is shaping up to be one of the most important off-seasons in NFL history. We’re just getting started. Be sure to keep following Last Word on Sports to watch the saga unfold.
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