Rampage
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- Mar 19, 2019
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It may look like free agency went off without a hitch, but there are lingering hitches galore, in the form of deals not done because physicals can’t be conducted during the ongoing pandemic. With the draft only 16 days away and with multiple players who have yet to finalize free-agent deals due to the inability to undergo physicals, an interesting dynamic is looming.
What if, for example, the Falcons have a great running back fall into their laps in round two or three, before Todd Gurley‘s knee receives a clean bill of health? Will teams doctors, whenever they can examine him, be more inclined to fail Gurley if/when the Falcons address their needs at the position with someone younger, cheaper, and healthier?
Or what if a team with needs at a given position fails to adequately address those needs in the draft? Will that team try to pilfer a player whose free-agent deal hasn’t been finalized with another franchise because his physical hasn’t been conducted?
More than a few players continue to have verbal agreements but not final contracts because they haven’t taken physicals. Some shrug at the potential for chaos. Others see this as a real issue.
No one will know until after the draft, when some teams may develop a reason to renege on a free-agent deal and when some players who aren’t yet officially committed may develop a wandering eye.