As far as time lines go, we have already heard countless so-called “time lines” put forth by the major media outlets, so I don’t want to do any unnecessary speculation until the deal is actually agreed upon. However, the latest news supposedly comes from an email from Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees to his teammates in which he says, “It now looks like free agency will begin at noon on Tuesday and it will be open free agency.  There will be no 3 day grace period for teams to sign their own players.  It will be open for anyone to sign anywhere.”

Brees goes on to discuss training camps: “It looks like the NFL is trying to force teams into camp on time.  This would move us to a report date of Thursday, July 28.   We would have physicals, conditioning, and meetings on this day.  The day before would be a travel day and the hotel would be open that night for guys to check in as well as physicals but nothing mandatory until Thursday”

He says later that all of this is subject to change, which I think is probably a huge understatement, but I just wanted to let you know what is out there so you can be prepared if it happens. Brees is obviously in the know when it comes to this stuff, because he has been one of the leaders from the beginning on the players side. Again, none of this is confirmed, but it is possible that free agency could begin 36 hours. As much as I love typing that, I’ll believe it only when I see it.

Let’s start with the not so good possibility. Some people have said that the meeting could have been for the lawyers to encourage their clients to stand up to the owners and not roll over in negotiations. If this is the case, then the lockout is far from over. I have made it clear that I think the two sides need to keep the lawyers out of this as much as possible because I don’t believe the attorneys have the best interest of their clients in mind. If the lawyers get in the heads of the players, we might be in for an even longer summer.

Now, moving on to the more preferable option: The players wanted to hammer out some post-lockout issues because they know a deal is imminent. Once an agreement is reached, there will still be plenty of issues for both sides to resolve amongst themselves, and one school of thought is that the players wanted to get the wheels in motion on some of their issues early. If this is the case, then this thing could be over sooner rather than later. I really hope this is the case, especially with the mostly positive news we have heard in regards to the lockout over the last week or so. I still believe we will all be able to sit down and watch the Rams and Bears kick off the preseason in the Hall of Fame game, but time is running out, so this needs to happen soon.