Moves like the Browns signing Jack Conklin provided a nice relief for some sports fansGETTY IMAGES
The NFL, despite "internal misgivings at the outset" of free agency, "seemed to receive few complaints from fans and outside observers, and many fans seemed to use the business-of-football updates as a welcome distraction" from the coronavirus outbreak, according to Kilgore & Maske of the WASHINGTON POST (3/17). YAHOO SPORTS' Shalise Manza Young wrote yesterday "provided a welcome distraction," as sports fans got a "needed break from it all, and without having to crowd together in close quarters" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 3/16). In Seattle, Matt Calkins writes, "Thank God the NFL doesn't stop." Calkins: "We still have free agency and will likely have the NFL Draft. That will do for now" (SEATTLE TIMES, 3/17). On Long Island, Bob Glauber writes it "would have surprised no one if the NFL had delayed the start of the league year," and it "might have been the appropriate move." However, there also is "something to be said for providing at least some sense of normalcy at such a difficult moment." Glauber: "It's a chance to get our minds off the very real problems afflicting so many people." If "nothing else, at least there is something else to talk about," and if that "helps get our collective minds off the very real concerns that all of us now have over an invisible and insidious virus that is stalking the world, then so be it" (NEWSDAY, 3/17).
RIGHT DECISION? In New Orleans, Rod Walker wrote in the "grand scheme of things, who goes where really doesn't seem important right now." The "good news" is that NFL free agency gives people "something to write about and talk about while all the games that usually occupy our lives this time of year have come to a halt." There can be a "hint of tone deafness associated with the decision." But from a "health standpoint, there shouldn't be an issue" (NOLA.com, 3/16). ESPN’s Chris Mortensen said he has gotten a "mixed reaction" from NFL insiders about the free agency period moving forward with business as usual. But he added there are a "bunch of free agents here who really have a level of anxiety," which is why the NFLPA "did not want to put a halt to this." Mortensen: "They have a level of anxiety as to where their next team is going to be, their next home, where they’re going to be moving their families, what’s the money going to be" (“NFL Live,” ESPN, 3/16).In DC, Jerry Brewer writes, "On all matters, I am trying to be neither judgmental nor dismissive right now because everyone is operating without a playbook." But "perhaps there is a better way to do this." Perhaps NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell "could have implemented an information embargo on all the activity for a few weeks." Brewer: "But the news would have leaked anyway." It is "reasonable to be upset that the NFL is carrying on," and it is "reasonable to be glad that teams are making it rain" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/17). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Jason Gay writes while the NFL's offseason continues apace, part of him "thinks this will be a welcome distraction" while another part "thinks it's tacky" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/17).
POOR TIMING: In Buffalo, Vic Carucci writes under the header, "NFL, NFLPA Appear Tone Deaf In Not Delaying Free Agency." Carucci: "As ever-growing fear/panic tightens its grip, what possibly could have possessed the NFL and NFLPA to believe that pushing forth with legal tampering Monday and the start of the free agent signing period and new league year Wednesday was a good idea?" This "doesn't have to happen this week." Carucci: "One way or another, the brakes needed to be pumped" (BUFFALO NEWS, 3/17). ESPN's Adam Schefter said, "Frankly, teams are floored that this is going on. We’ve got countries ... (and) cities shutting down, we’ve got curfews coming, we’ve got restaurant closures, we’ve got all sorts of issues in this country. We’ve got hospitals that are undermanned, we’ve got hospitals that are strained and stretched and we’ve got NFL teams wondering why they have to send players who will wind up taking visits to their city or sign contracts to hospitals where they’re going to take any kind of medical attention that could be better served in other areas" (“NFL Live,” ESPN, 3/16). In Pittsburgh, Kevin Gorman wrote it is "all a really bad look" because the NFL "appears tone deaf during a global health-care crisis." Still, sports have been an "escape from the real world and a diversion from the doldrums of daily life" (TRIBLIVE.com, 3/16).
