Broadway Joe
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- Mar 19, 2019
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USA TODAY Sports
Roughly 10 percent of the league had rookie minicamps this weekend. Roughly 100 percent of the rookies showed up.
Attendance of draft picks, undrafted free agents, and other eligible players were near perfect for the Jets, Raiders, and Colts, the three teams that held rookie minicamps the first weekend after the draft. None of the small handful of absences were believed to be the result of rookies choosing not to attend.
The development comes at a time when the NFL Players Association has tried to persuade rookies to skip rookie minicamps and other voluntary offseason workouts. Multiple agents representing rookies pushed back against that suggestion, given the reality that presence and participation in offseason workouts will make the transition to the pro game easier.
For players taken in and after round four, participation becomes a critical ingredient to having a chance to make the roster.
So look for more rookies to show up for upcoming rookie minicamps, and for the offseason workouts that will follow. Given that, for every team, 90 jobs will shrink to 53, the new guys will want to do whatever they can to get one of the available jobs.