Each spring, between the start of free agency and the NFL Draft, the 32 NFL teams descend on a single location to discuss league business. Owners, executives, coaches, and media members all get trapped in one conference center for a few days to give a status update on their teams and the league as a whole.
Meanwhile, those individuals making up the competition committee present their recommendations for rules changes to league ownership. This year, however, banning the Tush Push is not an option on the table;
instead, the big question around this year’s meeting revolves around whether the league can come to a new agreement with its officials.
The league and the NFL Referees Association seem to be at an impasse and the two sides may be headed for a work stoppage. This last happened in 2012, when the Green Bay Packers were on the wrong end of a missed call in Seattle in week two on national television. The Fail Mary gave the two sides the motivation they needed to get a deal done, so this year fans of all NFL teams should be hoping that they get to a compromise before the season begins.
Let’s look at where the Packers sit heading into this mid-point of the offseason and what options the NFL is exploring to mitigate the negotiation challenges with its officials.
Packers clear significant salary-cap space for potential roster moves | Packersnews.com
The Packers have opened up plenty of financial space this offseason for some big splashes, if they can find a good reason to make one. The better bet is that the team will lock up some of their key young players to contract extensions, but heading into June with more than $25 million in cap space (once Nate Hobbs’ deal comes off the books) is a place that this team rarely sits.
How do Packers break their own draft rules? Explaining outlier picks | Packers Wire
It seems that Green Bay bends their guidelines a little bit when a player has a truly elite trait or if they’re using late-round picks.
NFL to Begin Hiring Replacement Officials As Referee CBA Nears Expiration | SI.com
And a giant groan arises from Packers fans around the world who remember 2012.
Packers’ Matt LaFleur feels fortunate to have Jordan Love: Teams are only as good as ‘guy pulling the trigger’ | NFL.com
Thankfully, we can feel pretty darn good about the guy under center in Green Bay.
Kit confusion: US and Belgian players can’t tell which team’s jersey is which from distance | AP
At first glance and up close, maybe these jerseys aren’t so tough to distinguish, but one can certainly imagine it being difficult from far away and while moving quickly.
