The NFL is reinserting the Veteran Combine under a new name and the focus will be surrounding the “younger” athletes . It was announced Friday that registration will be opened for the 2017 Veteran Combine.
Players that had contracts from 2014-2016 will have the chance to apply.
It gives veterans an opportunity to get a chance to get scouted by NFL coaches on making a return back to the NFL. Last year Felix Jones discussed what the Veteran Combine meant to him.”I wanted to show off my speed, I can still move on the football field, I can still catch the ball and I got a chance to show it off,” said Jones. It’s a business, and you really can’t say why, but you can understand the situations … you just have to make sure you need to stay focused on what you want to do and keep yourself prepared for anything.”
Other players that went to try out explained the reason behind their comebacks. Jamaal Anderson is now 100% from the knee injury that blew him out of the league: “I feel outstanding, not just physically but mentally, and I think it definitely humbled me to sit back and realize that I’m not entitled as a first-rounder to be on a roster.”
Defensive end Adam Carriker first heard about the Veteran Combine from his football-fan masseuse. “I was out of sight, out of mind,” the 30-year old defender said. “That’s why this is great for me, I can remind teams, ‘Hey, I’m still alive. I can still play this game.’”
“The purpose of the Pro Player Combine is to service clubs and players by providing a single venue for exposure to non-vested free agents recently terminated from NFL contracts. Last year, the NFL pulled the plug on the veteran’s combine after NFL teams expressed a lack of interest in the event said a NFL source.”
The deadline for registration is Feb. 27 and 150 spots will be open and available.
