WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
We pretty much new it was coming, but it is officially time to celebrate: the NFL Lockout is over. The player reps unanimously voted to approve the new collective bargaining agreement on Monday. The only thing left is for the players to sign their union cards to re-certify the union, but that is just a formality. That will be an ongoing process from Wednesday to Friday, according to reports.
Offseason training activities, mini-camps, and normal preparation for an NFL season have been interrupted, but when it comes down to it, we're still going to have a full training camp, preseason games, the regular season, etc. en route to the Super Bowl. We won't have to worry about something like this for another decade, so now it's time to kick back and get excited for your 2011 Cleveland Browns under new head coach Pat Shurmur.
I'm sure training camp details will be unveiled in the next couple of days, amidst all of the free agent discussions that are bound to heat up. Teams can supposedly negotiate with their own free agents starting Tuesday, so we may have some ideas as to whether or not the Browns will retain guys like Robaire Smith or Lawrence Vickers. It sounds like negotiations can be made with other free agents too, with signings taking place by Friday, per ESPN.