July 25, 2011

From here on out, that day will be remember as the end of the lockout. For 130+ days, we have been waiting for this day, and it is finally here. But, now what happens?

The Following weeks will be a frenzy of free agency and training camps. Teams like our Carolina Panthers will have major work to do if they plan on starting these new rookies on day one. So now we can focus on the schedule of which things will be done, and when. More on that after the break.

Today the players will vote on ratifying the deal and the new league year will begin August 2nd at 2PM.

UPDATE: ESPN.com’s John Clayton announced the new timeline for the NFL as of the deal being approved in the afternoon.

"• Monday: The NFL will announce that teams can go to 90-man rosters and the official free-agent list will be distributed to teams.• Tuesday: Trading begins. Teams can reach agreements with rookies and undrafted free agents beginning at 10 a.m. ET. Teams can reach agreements with all free agents and signed players are allowed to enter team facilities.• Wednesday: Players can begin reporting to training camps 15 days before their first preseason games. According to the proposed timeline, 10 teams would report on Wednesday, 10 more on Thursday and 10 additional teams on Friday. The New York Jets and Houston Texans would be the last two teams to report, on Sunday.• Thursday: Teams can begin to cut players at 4 p.m. ET.• Friday: Teams can begin filing transactions to the league office at 6 p.m. ET.• Aug. 4: Deadline for recertification and ratification of the collective bargaining agreement by the players."

Players will not play a preseason game until two weeks after their training camps start, from my understanding.

The Panthers have a lot on their hands to try and develop their new players, as well as sign free agents. Expect the Panthers to be aggressive in the free agency, as they have plenty of holes to fill.