NFL Rumors: Teams to Try to Negotiate Contracts with Potential UDFA Before Draft - Bleacher Report

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The 2020 NFL draft will be held virtually and, in some ways, involve unprecedented procedures. 

The Athletic's Dan Pompei shed light on how franchises are reportedly feeling about the "scramble for undrafted free agents," made more complicated by being unable to make decisions in-person:

"Some front-office executives are more nervous about what will happen immediately after the draft than during it. The scramble for undrafted free agents always is chaotic and could be more so without face-to-face collaboration.

[...]

"Sources said some teams will try to make deals with potential undrafted free agents before the draft, but that won't be easy because so much will change between the start of the draft and the end of it. The real competition for undrafted free agents will begin in the later rounds."

Kansas City Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach told Pompei he anticipates signing undrafted free agents will be "crazy for everybody."

"Time is of the essence because while you are trying to recruit and sign players, other teams are trying to do the same thing,” Falcons president Rich McKay added. "Having one central room where decisions can be discussed and made quickly works well. Without that central room, how is that going to work?"

The NFL announced the draft would be held virtually to abide by social distancing protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic on April 6:

Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter

NFL teams cannot gather at one person’s home. Each person for him or herself during the draft. https://t.co/oNSFyhuCpj

The league conducted a virtual mock draft on Monday and experienced complications:

Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter

Text from a participant on the NFL’s mock draft that started at 1 pm EST. “Mock draft today already technical glitch w Cincinnatis 1st pick!!! Brutal.”

Dianna Russini @diannaESPN

Asked a coach to describe this mock draft “You got the NFL main room-that only main people in the organization can log into, you got 15-20 scouts/ coaches on another meeting. You have to find a way to call prospects after you pick them, sign off on trades, lots of moving parts.”

The predraft process has been altered as well. Teams are unable to perform in-person interviews or medical checks and have pivoted to video calls.

The draft was originally scheduled to take place in Las Vegas, but those plans were scrapped on March 16.

It has been turned into a Draft-A-Thon to benefit COVID-19 relief:

NFL Total Access @NFLTotalAccess

Next week during the @NFLDraft, @richeisen will be hosting a Draft-A-Thon LIVE across all NFL Digital Platforms beginning Thursday at 7:30pm ET to support COVID-19 relief efforts. Rich was joined by @nflcommish on our show today to discuss the event 👇 https://t.co/0EOL8Fox76

The draft will begin on Thursday night and run through Saturday.

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NFL Rumors: Teams to Try to Negotiate Contracts with Potential UDFA Before Draft - Bleacher Report
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