NFL Draft: A Chill In The Air

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeFor a few hours on Thursday, it was business as usual as the National Football League conducted its annual draft at New York's Radio City Music Hall.  Well, when you consider the fact that the league owners and the players union have been at odds with each other for the past few weeks, any kind of normalcy is a welcome sign for long-suffering football fans.

Did we say normalcy?  When NFL commissioner Roger Goodell came out to make his opening remarks before the draft started, he was greeted with boos and chants of  "we want football".  Awkward.

Quarterback Cam Newton of Auburn was chosen by the Carolina Panthers as the number one pick in the draft.  The Minnesota Vikings, needing defensive help, chose quarterback Christian Pander of Florida State instead.  Guess the Brett Favre/Tavares Jackson era really is over.

But here's what was different because of the ongoing labor situation:  There were no trades of veteran players in exchange for draft picks, and the newly-chosen players get no guarantees that they're going to join their new teams any time soon.

The NFL's lockout has been going on since March, putting nearly everything on hold.  Talks aren't scheduled until mid-May.  Players have been turned away from their practice facilities.  No trades or free agent signings have been made.  But the draft went on, and the league optimistically revealed its 2011 schedule, with no assurances that those games would ever be played.

Instead, all the action has been in the courtrooms.  In Minneapolis, U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson ruled in favor of the players' association, declaring the lockout invalid.  She later denied a request by the NFL to continue the lockout until appeals can be made.

Until they can get a more favorable ruling from another federal judge, the NFL is back in business.  Players can soon go back to their practice facilities and engage in football-related activities.  Teams can make trades and sign free agents if they so desire.

This is all temporary, of course.  There is still no agreement, and the two sides are reportedly far apart.  So don't be surprised if players are locked out again sometime soon.  If that happens and the season is threatened, the chants of "we want football" will only get louder.