In this Feb. 27, 2020, file photo, LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
By Barry Wilner
The NFL will hold a practice remote draft Monday, three days before the real thing is done in the same way.
Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn said Friday morning that the mock draft will be Monday. He didn’t provide any details on the proceedings, other than what the Lions will be part of.
“We’re going to do a couple internal tests and trial runs here,” Quinn said in a Zoom meeting with reporters to preview the draft. “The league is having a mock draft, mock trial run on Monday that we’ll participate in.”
Commissioner Roger Goodell ordered all team facilities closed in March and later required club personnel to conduct the draft from their homes. Because of the reliance on free-flowing communication, the league decided to stage a mock draft to ensure that the proceedings next Thursday, Friday and Saturday would go smoothly.
The draft originally was scheduled to be held in Las Vegas, but the NFL canceled all public events last month as a safeguard against the coronavirus. On April 6, Goodell instructed the teams on how they should plan to make their selections.
“We will reopen facilities when it is safe to do so based on medical and public health advice, and in compliance with government mandates,” he wrote.
Anticipation around Super Bowl LVII was already mounting with the reveal of Rihanna as the halftime performer and now the league has unveiled its full slate of scheduled performances for the big day.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) and Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon (28) motion for a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills during the third quarter of an NFL division round football game, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Joshua Bessex)
Damar Hamlin was released from a Buffalo hospital and will continue to recover at home, just 10 days after the Bills player collapsed on the field and suffered a cardiac arrest.
Bills players held up three fingers in recognition of defensive back Damar Hamlin, who wears the number 3 on his jersey, as the crowd chanted "Hamlin! Hamlin!" Hamlin is recovering in a Cincinnati hospital after going into cardiac arrest at a game on Monday.