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Players Can Return To Team Facilities; Movement Still On Hold
Following up on the ongoing story. ... The NFL has told its teams and players to get back to football, at least for now.

In a memo released Thursday hours before the draft, the NFL said players could resume voluntary workouts at team facilities, meet with coaches and go over playbooks beginning Friday.

It also promised to distribute detailed procedures for signing free agents or making trades and other roster moves.

As the Associated Press explained, the NFL still hopes the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis restores the lockout. The court says players must respond to the league’s request for a stay by noon CDT Friday. Then the league has until 9 a.m. CDT Monday to respond to that filing.

The NFL’s request for a temporary stay is still pending before the court.

During an appearance on Profootballtalk Live a short time ago, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told listeners, “We -- just moments ago -- notified our clubs that we think it’s appropriate under the circumstances to take additional steps in response to the injunction. So the facilities will open tomorrow at 8 a.m. Eastern time. ...”

Aiello said confirmed that players can go to team headquarters for medical exams, meetings with coaches, distribution of playbooks and film study, among other things and that all 32 clubs can start setting up schedules for organized team activities and voluntary workouts.

That doesn’t mean, however, that the league year has begun.

Transactions like trades and free agent signings can’t start just yet.

“Judge [Susan] Nelson said it was up to us to determine how to proceed, and we think in light of the fact that the first round of the draft is tonight, clubs are fully focused on that,” Aiello explained.

So, as PFT's Michael David Smith notes, there will be no trades of players under contract today, although it’s at least theoretically possible that the league year could start tomorrow and players under contract could be traded tomorrow and the next day, during Rounds 2-7 of the draft.

But ESPN insider Adam Schefter says that won't happen. Schefter advised his Twitter followers there will be no free-agent signings during draft and no player trades during draft. Only picks will be traded during draft.

Schefter went on to suggest free agency could start Monday.

But as Smith stressed: "All of this is moot if the appeals court ruling goes the way the NFL is hoping. ..."

Stay tuned.

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