Married and a father, with another child on the way, former Virginia Tech running back Darren Evans suddenly found himself in the unenviable role of unemployed football player in a shuttered league eight weeks ago.
With one season of eligibility remaining, Evans, 22, gambled and declared for the NFL draft in April after advisers told him he was a lock as a middle-round pick. As the three-day draft approached an end, Evans says, the Washington Redskins called to say it was unlikely any team would select him.
"After hearing those words … everything kind of went blank," he says bleakly.
Evans was devastated when all 32 teams passed on him. Normally, the snub would not be a huge issue. Hundreds of eager rookie free agents are a solid return on investment for owners; such players represent a cheap source of labor. Teams quickly scoop up and sign the best of them, then provide invaluable rookie orientation before the start of grueling training camps in late July.
However, with the longest labor stoppage in league history surpassing 100 days this week, Evans remains one of hundreds of unsigned free agents whose childhood dreams of playing in the NFL might be in jeopardy if the owners' lockout lingers. Such is the collateral damage in the battle between billionaires (owners) and millionaires (players) in the league's first offseason lockout.
"These guys are the forgotten warriors of the lockout," NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock says. "I feel horribly for them. This is uncharted territory. They are scared to death they may not get an opportunity with the NFL."
For unsigned rookies, the lockout is a double whammy.
They were given the cold shoulder on draft day, then the lockout forced them to miss rookie practice sessions in May, hours of classroom instruction and critical time studying playbooks. A truncated training camp and preseason schedule would make it more difficult for rookie free agents to earn roster spots. Teams are limited to 53 players, plus eight on their practice squads. Instead of investing in developing rookie free agents, coaches likely will turn to more experienced players to fill their active rosters.
"You will have a class of (rookie free agents) where many will disappear into thin air — a guy like (Dallas Cowboys quarterback) Tony Romo might never exist," says NFL Network analyst Charley Casserly, a former general manager with the Redskins and Houston Texans.
Every team in the 2003 draft ignored Romo, now a three-time Pro Bowl quarterback, before the Cowboys signed him as a free agent.
The chance of earning a roster spot as a rookie free agent is dubious at best, but dozens of such players earn their way on to teams each season.
Some develop into stars. Pro Bowlers such as Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison, New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker, San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates, Cowboys receiver Miles Austin and Texans running back Arian Foster are prime examples.
Foster, bypassed in the 2009 draft, last season smashed the NFL record for most yards from scrimmage (2,220) by an undrafted player.
Quarterback Kurt Warner, overlooked by scouts when he emerged out of Northern Iowa in 1994, led the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals to Super Bowls before retiring after the 2009 season.
But if the labor impasse impacts the scheduled start of training camps next month, less practice time will lead to a flattened learning curve, which means "it is going to be an uphill climb, much more than in the past, for those undrafted kids," agent Joe Linta says.
Missing important drills
In recent weeks, owners and players, mired in a dispute over how to split revenue, appear to have moved closer to a new collective bargaining agreement during several negotiating sessions.
But because there is no deal yet, free agents (and all current players) are barred from being signed or having contact with teams and their facilities.
Lifting weights or tossing the football around on a high school field with buddies is one thing; getting on a field for bona fide practices is something else, says retired Super Bowl quarterback Rich Gannon, who stresses that "repetition is the mother of learning."
"Realistically, (undrafted free agents) have very little chance of having any type of impact — or making a roster," says Gannon, a CBS analyst. "The reason guys do not make it in this business isn't because they can't run, block or tackle. For the most part, it is because they cannot handle the volume of information in a short period of time.
"They make a mistake and repeat it the next day. Then the coach says, 'I can't play with that guy — go get me someone else.' If you are a coach, you want guys who understand your system because, at the end of the day, it is your (behind)."
Former coach Jim Mora Jr. knows this as well as anyone. Preseason games — the current schedule calls for four — are mostly where rookie free agents state their cases to make a team.
"If the preseason is cut down, it is going to be really, really, really difficult for those guys," says Mora, now an NFL Network analyst. "Missing OTAs (organized team activities, held in the offseason) and minicamps are deterrents to making a favorable impression on the coaching staff."
The rookies do have football options, chiefly the United Football League and the Canadian Football League. And when it comes to the NFL, not everyone concurs that undrafted rookies face longer odds than usual if there is a protracted lockout.
"I don't think there will be much of a difference," Rams general manager Billy Devaney says. "As long as they show something, they can get caught up to speed."
Chargers coach Norv Turner agrees. "The guys who would have made your team by coming into (spring practice) in May are going to be the same guys who make it (under a limited training camp)," he says.
Ex-Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich, an undrafted free agent who recovered from bone cancer two years ago to resume playing last season, says, "Whether you are a first-round (draft choice) or whether you are undrafted, you have to learn the (pro) system."
'It's crunchtime for money'
Without a new labor deal, rookie free agents remain in free fall.
In Evans' case, financial pressures bear down on the 230-pounder like a menacing middle linebacker. He and his wife, Taneesha, live with one of his cousins in their hometown of Indianapolis. The couple get by on savings and the largesse of family members.
"If this whole (football) thing just totally blows up in my face, I will go to work," says Evans, who as a redshirt freshman in 2008 rumbled for a then-school record 253 yards rushing against Maryland.
"If I get knocked down, I have to get up, because I will have three people depending on me."
Evans' economic concerns are one example of the anxiety affecting his unsigned brethren.
The best of them would have received signing bonuses ranging from $10,000 to $25,000. Under the expired labor agreement, the minimum NFL salary — which is typically what such players are paid — was $325,000 for rookies.
This year, the uncertainty has led some undrafted free agents such as former Michigan State tight end Charlie Gantt and California wide receiver Jeremy Ross to find jobs or rely on financial support from family, friends or their agents.
Gantt will begin working Monday at a suburban Detroit hospital, transporting patients for $12.02 an hour.
"It's crunchtime for money," Gantt says. "I expected to be drafted, so it was a tough day, very disappointing. I was very depressed. It is going to be tougher to make a team, but I hope someone will see my ability and take a chance."
Ross recently moved in with friends from church and intends to find work. "Now that I don't have scholarship checks, I actually have to get a job and work," he says. "The lockout has helped me mature."
Former Texas Tech quarterback Taylor Potts, a pre-med graduate, spends his days working out in Lubbock — when he is not shadowing an orthopedic surgeon. He also plans to get married next month.
"We (players) are pretty much at the mercy of the lockout," Potts says. "I have a lot of time to beef up a Plan B. Plan A is to still play football — although Plan B is becoming a bit more realistic."
Likewise, free agent hopefuls such as former West Virginia star running back Noel Devine and North Carolina safety Deunta Williams maintain positive attitudes.
"I am keeping up my spirits," Devine says. "The toughest part is keeping your faith strong for all the right reasons, whether it is family or love of the game."
Williams has worked hard to rehabilitate a broken right leg suffered in his final game for the Tar Heels in December.
"You just have to keep grinding," he says.
Even so, some players might not be able to overcome a higher hurdle without the benefit of a traditional training camp. "It would be a shorter time for coaches to discover your character, intelligence and desire," agent Tom Condon says.
The NFL's competition committee has discussed expanding training camp rosters to 90 players from the current limit of 80 to help make up for the missed practice time this spring, but there has been no formal proposal on the matter.
Gannon understands the potential predicament for unsigned rookies if the labor shutdown extends into late July or August.
"These are kids who worked a lifetime for this opportunity," he says. "They were not drafted, but they are talented enough to play in the league. Somebody is going to give them a chance, but how realistic of an opportunity is it? It's a joke."
Linebacker Gary Brackett says he was the longest of long shots when the Indianapolis Colts signed him as a rookie free agent eight years ago. He says this class of rookie free agents will have to hit the ground running.
"I was iffy," he says. "(This season), players won't have the same margin of error. You have little room for error as it is. In this situation, there is no room for error."
Brackett mentors Evans, challenging him during workouts in Indianapolis and advising him on the nuances of pro football. His best advice: hone special-teams skills.
"Darren absolutely fits into the NFL. I would be surprised if he didn't make it," Brackett says. "He is a natural talent with a great motor."
Evans revved up last season after knee surgery that wiped out his 2009 campaign. A tough power back, he split time in the backfield and led the Hokies in rushing and touchdowns as Virginia Tech won the Atlantic Coast Conference title.
He figured he was a surefire draft pick, particularly after he says that several teams, including the Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins, appeared to express serious interest in drafting him. He was wrong.
Now he is determined to prove talent evaluators were wrong, too, as he tackles reality.
"All this NFL stuff now, whether it happens or not, I am prepared for life," says Evans, whose family includes 4-year-old son James.
"I might not get a fair chance to prove myself, but the football thing remains an absolute dream of mine. I won't give up without a fight."
Article source:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2011-06-24-undrafted-free-agents-lockout_n.htm
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