A deal was recently reached between the owners and the NFL players that ended the longest work stoppage in the history of the league. The deal allows for the NFL season to officially begin and the players can now start reporting to training camp. With the deal occurring so late in July, the teams will only have two weeks to fill out their rosters before the first preseason game is played.
The NFL lockout should not hinder the quality of the games played, but some teams were in better position to deal with the shortened training camp. The NFL teams that are changing coaches or quarterbacks are going to have the most trouble coming into the new season. The lockout prevent from the players from having contact with any of the coaches, so they will only have a few weeks to learn a new system and playbook. This is going to make it hard for teams like the Carolina Panthers at the beginning of the season. They are coming into the season with a new rookie quarterback, Cam Newton, who now gets a lot fewer repetitions with his new teammates than he would have gotten in any other season.
The lockout should give the more stable teams in the league just another slight advantage. Teams like the Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts will see very little change coming into the new season. They are not changing any of their coaches, and all of their core players have been with the team for several years. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are two of the most prepared players in the league. They could have several years off and still be able to come in and compete at a high level.
New NFL Salary Cap
The new salary cap will also have a severe impact on several teams and players. Last season did not have a salary cap, so there are a few teams that have to cut millions in payroll to be able to make the salary cap. The Raiders and Cowboys are both over $12 million over the new salary cap. This is not good for the veterans on those teams because they will most likely get cut and have to sign for much less money on another team.
