A Week for the Ages for NFL Front Offices

Now that this lockout is over, it is time to focus on the normal off season activities: cutting and resigning players, trades, free-agent acquisitions, and the ever-present Brett Favre watch. The difference is this year, all of the above are being compressed into a week. This will be a week like no other in the history of the four major sports, and while it will be exciting for all NFL fans, it will be both stressful and ultimately telling to the general managers and front office personnel. To successfully manage this week, the GMs need to have very clear priorities and plans laid out with multiple contingencies in case plan A does not work out. Teams are starting out by signing undrafted free agents. Some of these players are nothing more than warm bodies to fill out training camp rosters, but let’s not forget that 23 of these undrafted players were Pro Bowlers last year. There are numerous examples of undrafted free agents developing into star players. In 2009, Arian Foster was undrafted coming out of Tennessee, was subsequently signed by the Texans and a year later led the NFL in rushing yards. This is just the first step in the process of making a team better.