Undrafted gems might not get to shine
80-man camp roster could prevent next Arian Foster from stating case
Ordinarily, 90 players are on NFL training camp rosters, including a lot of undrafted free agents trying to impress coaches in practice and preseason games.
Because of these extraordinary times amid the threat of COVID-19, many of those undrafted free agents who signed the last week of April won’t get that opportunity.
When the NFL makes it official, training camp rosters will be reduced to 80. That means more than 300 players across the league will be placed on waivers without stepping on the practice field or meeting their coaches in person after participating in virtual offseason programs.
Looking back at the first training camp for five undrafted Texans — running back Arian Foster, cornerback A.J. Bouye, center Greg Mancz, outside linebacker Brennan Scarlett and inside linebacker Dylan Cole — you wonder what their chances would have been if they had competed in the current environment.
Would Foster, Bouye, Mancz, Scarlett and Cole — five of the best undrafted free agents in team history — have been able to impress the coaches enough to make the team without on-field participation in the offseason program, two minicamps, more padded practices during camp, and preseason games?
Foster, the best undrafted rookie in franchise history, was good enough to make the practice squad before being promoted to the roster. He played on special teams until he got a chance to carry the ball in the last two games of his rookie year.
Under the current circumstances, Foster might have been waived — not in the reduction to 80 because he’d received a good signing bonus — but possibly in the last cut because teams are expected to keep cheap veterans with playing experience. Foster might not have gotten a chance to prove he was talented enough to make the practice squad.
The owners and NFL Players Association continue negotiations on issues that have kept them apart, but word is trickling out that their differences are being settled, including roster sizes.
In the Texans’ case, coach Bill O’Brien and executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby had signed just 85 players and were keeping the other five spots open.
More than 100 veteran free agents remain unsigned as veterans prepare to report for COVID-19 testing and physicals so they can begin the conditioning part of camp next week.
For rookies — drafted and undrafted — and other players without NFL playing experience, there won’t be any joint practices or preseason games to get a coach’s attention. As O’Brien said before and after the draft, it’ll be a veterans’ season because rookies are at such a disadvantage.
Two things are tried and true when it comes to trying to impress O’Brien: Players better know the system, including the terminology, and they better show up in good physical condition. Not much irritates O’Brien more than players who make mental mistakes or report out of shape. If you do both and manage not to get cut, better head for the doghouse.
Once players test negative for COVID-19 two times in a row, they’re allowed in NRG Stadium. They might not recognize their home stadium or the practice facility on the other side of Kirby Drive because of league-mandated changes dictated by the virus.
At some point next week players will get on the practice field to start the conditioning part of camp. It’s more important this year than at any other time since 2011, when owners locked out the players while negotiating with the NFLPA for a new collective bargaining agreement.
Defensive end J.J. Watt, a first-round pick that year came to Houston after the draft to work out with his new teammates at Rice Stadium, where they prepared for the time when the owners and players would settle their differences and reach an agreement on a new CBA, allowing players to report to their facilities.
In 2011, players could have no contact with coaches or anyone else from the team, so rookies such as Watt had to learn from their new teammates. Still, a lot of rookies and players who had signed with new teams were behind and had to catch up in camp when the stalemate ended.
This year, players had a virtual offseason program with their coaches, but they had to work out on their own. Coaches are interested to see who’s in what kind of shape when they start conditioning.
Players were told what to do by the Texans, but an undrafted free agent who got 15 grand to sign wouldn’t have a strength and conditioning setup like Watt and other veterans. It makes sense that some young players might be behind physically, and that’s one reason the union is seeking more days for physical conditioning than the owners believe they should have.
It’s documented that in 2011 there were more injuries, including specific kinds of injuries, even though players were supposed to work out together as well as on their own. It stands to reason, then, that there will be more injuries this season.
Imagine how some teams — and you hope it’s not many — will be impacted not only with the usual rash of injuries that can affect playoff races but positive COVID-19 tests as well.
With practice squads being increased at a time when injuries and positive tests could have a profound effect on rosters, perhaps some of those players who are going to be on the street will finally get an opportunity to impress their coaches.