Twenty former undrafted free agents played for the Bears in 2019. Guys like Trey Burton, Chase Daniel and Taylor Gabriel worked and scrapped their way into eight-figure career earnings. Roy Robertson-Harris became a key contributor on one of the NFL’s best defensive lines. Rashaad Coward, Ben Braunecker, Kevin Toliver, Josh Woods and J.P. Holtz all carved out roles, among others.
Those guys “made it” despite not being drafted. They’re also lucky they didn’t go undrafted in 2020.
As the NFL formulates its plan to play a season in the middle of a pandemic, one reported possibility is halving the number of preseason games each team will play from four to two. That reduction would come in tandem with a longer “ramp up” period at team facilities before training camp practices begin.
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It’s a smart plan for putting the best product on the field in September. Hopefully it helps prevent a rash of soft tissue injuries during training camp and early in the season as players get into football shape.
It just stinks for 2020’s crop of undrafted free agents.
Training camp can be an opportunity to get to know some of those undrafted free agents doing their best to get noticed. Most of them won’t make it in the NFL. But some do, either with their original team or another one, because of what they’re able to put on tape in preseason games.
“Your film you put out, especially in these games, is your resume,” 2019 undrafted offensive lineman Alex Bars said last year. “Not only for the Chicago Bears but for all 31 other teams that may take a look at it if they’re interested in you.”
Bars’ film was good last year in the preseason. He didn’t make the Bears’ roster out of training camp, but turned down an offer to join the New England Patriots during the season, who wanted to sign him off the Bears’ practice squad. He ultimately made the 53-man roster later in the year.
I don’t know if Bars is going to make it long-term in the NFL. But if he doesn’t, he can still say he played in the NFL. Four-hundred and twenty-one other former undrafted free agents who played in at least one game last year can say the same thing.
Cutting the number of preseason games in half means fewer opportunities for 2020’s undrafted free agents to build their resumes. It means fewer opportunities for that “flash” moment that sometimes is all it takes for an undrafted free agent to keep his NFL dream alive.
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So for guys like Darion Clark, Badara Traore, even LeDarius Mack — Khalil’s brother — there will be precious few chances to get on an NFL roster in 2020. If fans aren't allowed into training camp practices, too, they won't even have the opportunity to become the kind of fan favorites that could break up the monotony of practices down in Bourbonnais.
And that’s a bummer.
Even if playing only two preseason games is, otherwise, a smart move for the NFL.
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