U.S. District Judge Susan Nelson lifted the lockout on Monday, saying it causing "irreparable harm" to the players. Nelson's action ended the NFL's work stoppage in its 45th day.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Tuesday morning that the league will continue operating as is.
"We are going to proceed in an orderly way that is fair to the teams and players and complies with court orders," Aiello said. "Players are being treated with courtesy and respect at club facilities.
"We do not believe it is appropriate for football activities to take place until there are further rulings from the court. Under the last set of proposals made to the NFLPA, teams wouldn't even be into offseason program yet. We need a few days to sort this out, as NFLPA attorney Jim Quinn indicate last night."
Nonetheless, some players returned to team facilities Tuesday morning.
Nelson has given the players until 9 a.m. CT Wednesday to reply to the league's expedited motion for a stay. The stay would put Nelson's decision on hold pending further appeals. So we are again in a holding pattern, but this is certainly a positive sign for the fans. We will likely either have the league back open for business in a few days, or be forced to wait for the appeals process to run its course. Either way, the landscape of the current NFL is continually evolving with lots of unknowns without a CBA in place.
