Players are required to report by Thursday
When the end came and some answers still weren’t apparent, Redskins end Phillip Daniels had one big question on his mind.
“How quickly can I pack?” he said.
With the NFL’s lockout ending Monday, Daniels and others who live out of town must hustle to gather their belongings and head to Washington. Players must be at Redskins Park by Thursday. Voluntary workouts begin at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.
Redskins quarterback John Beck was turned away at Redskins Park on Monday afternoon after the lockout was lifted — but before players were allowed to enter facilities.
“It’s great to finally have it over with,” Daniels said. “It’s a process that was drawn out way too far. I think if level heads would have prevailed, it would have gotten done a lot sooner. Egos came into play. But I expected this to draw out to the last second and that right before training camp it would come to a conclusion. I’m happy for the fans.”
Redskins player representative Vonnie Holliday said he did not anticipate the lockout taking this long to end. He was one of the most outspoken players at the end of last week after the owners approved the deal.
But Holliday was thrilled with the deal that was ultimately agreed upon.
“The meat and potatoes of the deal never changed,” he said. “It was the process of how we get there … the testing and all those things which in our business is huge. That’s where the breakdown came and why guys had some serious issues. It was thrown in, and the timetable that was supposed to take place was not beneficial to players.
“This is a monumental deal. The game is made by the players. There are so many different storylines coming out this past six months that to me is just empowering to players past, present and future. It’s a good deal for both sides.”
The Redskins must act fast with their 11 unrestricted free agents, including end Kedric Golston. He said he anticipates returning based on conversations with team officials before the lockout. So do quarterback Rex Grossman and safety Reed Doughty.
“I think [signings] will happen relatively quick because GMs want to get their teams assembled and get back to football,” Golston said.
Meanwhile, rookies can start signing Tuesday. One agent said that just because the money is less for rookies and the ceiling is capped, there still could be holdouts. “There are still issues where we can disagree,” he said.
Meanwhile the Redskins rookies are anxious. Only first-round pick Ryan Kerrigan has even met the coaches.
