NFL Lockout 2011: 50 Players Most Hurt by the NFL Work Stoppage

With the NFL lockout finally close to ending (at least we think it is close), let's take a look at those players hurt most by the four-month-long lockout.

How will rehabbing from surgeries without team doctors affect Peyton Manning? Will rookies Cam Newton, Jake Locker and Blaine Gabbert be ready to start Week 1 without the benefit of training camp?

We break down the top 50 players hurt most by the lockout and go in-depth to explain why.

Logan Mankins and Vincent Jackson

It may seem misguided, and you can blame their agents for that, but Logan Mankins and Vincent Jackson honestly believe they will receive a $10 million settlement from the NFL owners as lead plaintiffs in the Brady vs. NFL case.

Here's the deal: If Tom Brady—the guy's name is on the lawsuit—isn't asking for a settlement, then no one should.

I know what Mankins and Jackson are thinking—what's $20 million out of a $9 billion pie? That's not the point. The point is that both players volunteered their names to sue the NFL and in good faith promised their peers they would negotiate for them.

Do you know how many court appearances the two made? Zero. Nada. None.

If the NFL wants to pay any players for their work in this, they need to send it to Jeff Saturday and Dominique Foxworth.

Mario Williams

Changing positions is never easy. It will be much harder for Mario Williams as he tries to transition from playing right defensive end in a 4-3 defense to an outside linebacker position in the new 3-4 defense in Houston.

Williams will be under the tutelage of Wade Phillips, which will definitely help, but learning the intricacies of the position will take time and reps—something you can only gain in training camp and preseason games.

Elvis Dumervil

Much like Mario Williams learning to play a new position this offseason, Elvis Dumervil will be making the move from outside linebacker back to the position he began his career at—defensive end.

Dumervil will not only be learning a new position, he's also coming back from a torn pectoral muscle that kept him out for the entire 2010 season.

Without the benefit of team trainers, Dumervil may be slower than normal to return to game shape and game health. And without training camp, he will be slower to transition back to defensive end.

Terrell Owens

Terrell Owens will start the offseason as a free agent, so you may be wondering how the lockout hurt him.

Owens tore his ACL in May, something that he would have much rather rehabilitated under the watchful eyes of the training staff of whichever team signed him.

Yes, it's possible that Owens would have failed a physical, or hurt his knee before signing with a new team, but it's also possible that a team like Chicago would have signed him May 1.

The inability to work out with team doctors is what's hurting Owens.

Darren Evans

The lockout has been hard on everyone associated with the NFL, writers included, but perhaps those players hit hardest are the undrafted free agents of the 2011 class.

No player may feel the pressure of missing out on the NFL like former Virginia Tech running back Darrren Evans.

Evans, a husband and father, has a family to support. He had planned on using his NFL contract do to so. As it is now, Evans is unemployed, working out and waiting for his shot at the NFL.

Tyron Smith

Being drafted in the top 10 picks of the NFL draft comes with a certain degree of pressure that many of us may never experience or understand.

For tackle Tyron Smith, the lockout could be a big reason for early struggles in his career.

Dallas must decide first if they want to re-sign Doug Free to play left tackle. If they do not, it makes sense that Smith would slide over to left tackle. He's definitely athletic enough to make the move, but Smith has played right tackle for the last three seasons at USC and would require an adjustment period in making such a move.

Normally a player would have months to adjust to a new position in training camp and organized team activities. The lockout all but ended this, which is why Smith will be a big question mark on the Cowboys offensive line.

Marc Bulger

Free-agent quarterbacks across the league will feel the effects of the lockout all season long.

Take Marc Bulger for example. A backup in Baltimore last year, Bulger was mentioned by many as a possible starter in Seattle, Arizona, Minnesota, Tennessee and even Miami—all places with a young or ineffective quarterback that needs a veteran hand to hold them this season.

Bulger is still among the top of the list as far as veteran quarterbacks available go, but with just three or four weeks of preparation before the season begins, how good can Bulger be this season?

Bulger, and other veterans, are hurting due to the late start of the NFL season. Their new teams will feel it too.

Maurice Jones-Drew

We have met a few other injured players hurt by the lockout, meet another in Jacksonville's Maurice Jones-Drew.

MJD played the entire 2010 season with a torn meniscus in his left knee after tearing it during the preseason. Obviously he can play with the injury, so how does the lockout hurt him?

Playing on an injury is a dangerous and scary proposition. In a normal year, Jones-Drew would have spent the offseason getting treatment and therapy, if not surgery, to repair and strengthen the knee.

Without the watchful eyes of his NFL trainers, Jones-Drew could be risking further injury.

Matt Hasselbeck

As it is with many veteran quarterbacks this offseason, Matt Hasselbeck will be hugely affected by the lack of training camps and reps in practice to learn a new offense.

This might mean Hasselbeck returns to Seattle, where he is familiar with the offense and can play immediately, instead of signing with a better team (i.e. Minnesota) where he would have a learning curve of a new offense.

Donovan McNabb

Donovan McNabb has a good chance to play for another team next year—or at least he hopes so.

The Redskins have said that McNabb may return as a backup to John Beck, but that's obviously not an ideal situation. Mike Shanahan has mentioned being open to trading McNabb, however it's doubtful that the market for him would be that great.

That leaves cutting McNabb as the only option, which is what should happen. Once McNabb is free he will be rushed into making a decision on where to sign and then quickly trying to learn a new playbook.

This severely limits McNabb's options and his chances of being productive in 2011.

Von Miller

As a draft analyst you really do not want to have a favorite team or player, but every now and then you see a guy and realize that you have to champion his cause.

For me, that happened during the 2009 season when seeing Von Miller. Miller eventually became the No. 2 overall pick in the 2011 draft. He's expected to be a huge role player in the Denver Bronco defense this season.

Miller, though, will face his only trouble in transitioning to the NFL without the benefit of rookie camp, OTAs and training camp. At Texas A&M, Miller was used as a stand-up pass-rusher. In Denver's 4-3 defense he will be covering tight ends, stopping the run and occasionally rushing the passer. A far cry from his role at TAMU.

Jake Kirkpatrick

Like many rookies we'll discuss in this article, Jake Kirkpatrick is patiently waiting to be signed by an NFL team.

Undrafted out of TCU, Kirkpatrick is ranked as one of the best undrafted free agents available by our good friend Eric Galko of Optimum Scouting.

Kirkpatrick, as you can imagine, has been hurt by the lockout. So has his bank account.

Alex Smith

Learning a new offensive system is never easy, no matter who the player is. For Alex Smith, learning his eighth offensive system in as many years as an NFL quarterback, this lockout has been a rhymes with witch.

Smith will be tutored by Jim Harbaugh once coaches and players can contact each other legally. The question will be, how fast can Smith learn the offense?

Charlie Whitehurst

Prepare to see a poo-ton of quarterbacks on the list from here on out. It stands to reason that the most important position on the field would be hit the hardest by the lockout.

We have quarterbacks changing teams, quarterbacks learning new offenses and quarterbacks moving into starting jobs this offseason—they will all feel the hurt of the lockout.

Charlie Whitehurst is expected to step into the position vacated by Matt Hasselbeck's free agency. If Whitehurst is the starter next year, he at least has the benefit of the 2010 season in Seattle as preparation. He could have benefited from a full offseason as the leader and captain of the team and offense. Without that, there may be hesitancy in the huddle, something no team can afford.

Kyle Orton

Kyle Orton can thank the NFL lockout—well that and his huge salary—for his impending exit from the Denver Broncos.

Had Orton been given a full season to compete, he may still be the starting quarterback in Denver. Mr. Touchdown Jesus himself, Timmy Tebow, has taken Orton's job and opened the door for a departure.

Leaving Denver may not be all bad, though. The real hurt for Orton is that he'll be learning a new offense and new teammates with three weeks to prepare for the season.

John Beck

A personal goal of mine was to give as much attention as possible to the fact that Mike Shanahan and the Washington Redskins plan to use John Beck as their starting quarterback.

Yes, John Beck. Crazy. I shake my head every time I type it.

Beck will have a hard enough job trying to impersonate an NFL quarterback this season. Doing so without an offseason to learn the tendencies of his teammates and the demands of Shanahan will be a killer.

Vince Young

Vince Young was expected to be cut from Tennessee no matter when the lockout began or ended, as he is due $4.25 million on the 10th day of the new league year.

Young will find himself cut soon after the lockout ends. The trouble is that he will have very little time to vet his potential suitors and find the best situation for the future.

A one-year contract is a very real possibility for Young. If he is expected to be a Week 1 starter, he'll do so with little time to learn an offense (something he struggled with in Tennessee) and familiarize himself with new teammates.

Matthew Stafford

With just 13 starts in the last two seasons, Matthew Stafford is ready to show the NFL that he's worthy of the No. 1 overall pick Detroit used on him in the 2009 NFL draft.

To do that, Stafford will need the proper rehab from a 2010 shoulder injury and also reps with new teammates Mikel Leshoure and Titus Young.

The lockout definitely stunts the growth of both Stafford and the Lions offense.

Jimmy Clausen

If Jimmy Clausen had any hopes of starting in Carolina this season, he lost them when the NFL lockout carried on well into the summer.

For Clausen to be considered an option as the starting quarterback, he would have had to work with teammates this summer building chemistry, he would have had to work with offensive coaches learning the new offense and he would have had to show up early every day to impress head coach Ron Rivera.

Thanks to a four-month-long lockout, these things never happened and Jimmy Clausen's young career is off to a bad start.

Cam Newton

Staying in Carolina, rookie first-round pick Cam Newton will face his own hardships due to the lockout.

Newton, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, is facing an uphill battle to learn an NFL offense after being fed play calls and reads during his one year at Auburn.

A full summer of training camps and quarterback school in Carolina would have been huge for Newton's ability to start as a rookie.

Jake Locker

You might recognize that many rookie quarterbacks make this list. Next up is Jake Locker of the Tennessee Titans.

Like all rookies, Locker will be at a disadvantage in trying to learn a new offensive system and get up to speed as an NFL player.

The most likely scenario in Tennessee is that the Titans sign a veteran, like Matt Hasselbeck, and sit Locker for at least the first half of the season.

Locker was always viewed as a player who would need a ton of work once drafted. Without an offseason to improve his game, Locker's chances of starting early on are hurting.

Blaine Gabbert

Another rookie quarterback and another on our list of players most hurt by the lockout.

Blaine Gabbert may not be expected to start as a rookie with David Garrard in town, but before the lockout ran into late July he had at least a shot at unseating Garrard this season.

Gabbert is viewed as somewhat "NFL-ready," but without a real training camp and full offseason of learning the playbook, any expectations of him playing early this season are unrealistic.

Andy Dalton

Before the NFL draft we proclaimed Andy Dalton was the "most NFL-ready quarterback in the draft."

And he still is, but learning Jay Gruden's offense in four weeks might be impossible for a 10-year veteran. For a rookie quarterback, it just might be impossible.

With Carson Palmer threatening to retire if he's not traded, Dalton was the Bengals' hope as QB1. Until he can get in Cincinnati and start working out with Gruden and his receivers, that's just not realistic.

Christian Ponder

One of the players sure to lose out on a starting job in Week 1 of the NFL season is Christian Ponder of the Minnesota Vikings.

Drafted with the No. 1 pick in Minnesota, Ponder was viewed as an instant replacement for Brett Favre. Until the lockout crept closer to August.

Ponder played in a pro-style offense at Florida State, but he's far from ready to take over as a starter without a full summer of learning.

Nnamdi Asomugha

Ah, finally—a non-quarterback.

Nnamdi Asomugha is the best defensive free agent in the NFL this summer...if free agency ever begins. Assuming that free agency kicks off on July 27, Asomugha figures to be the biggest name signed to the most money.

How does the lockout hurt him, then?

Asomugha will still get paid; that's not in doubt. Where he gets hurt by this is in the lack of time he will have to prepare with his new team. It's fair to say he will be learning a new system and adjusting to new calls. Learning these things takes time, even for a league great like Asomugha.

Tim Tebow

As mentioned on the Kyle Orton slide, there was a good chance that a battle would ensue between Orton and Tim Tebow to determine who the starting quarterback in Denver would be this season.

Due to the lockout there will not be time for that. Instead, Tebow has been anointed as QB1 in Denver by head coach John Fox.

Tebow will suffer from a lack of time to prepare for his role as the franchise quarterback in Denver. With just weeks to prepare for the season, expectations must be low for what Tebow can do early in the year.

Daniel Thomas

Drafted in the second round, Daniel Thomas was expected to replace Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams in the Miami backfield.

By nature, the running back position is easier to learn, but Thomas will still suffer from a lack of NFL conditioning, strength training and film work as he tries to prepare for his first NFL season.

Colt McCoy

Colt McCoy's first season in Cleveland was inspiring. Playing in eight games for the Browns, McCoy led the team to wins over New England and New Orleans, and had the Browns in close games against the Jets and the Ravens.

McCoy was primed for a big season in Cleveland in 2011 as the undisputed starter. While it is still possible that McCoy has a great year, it would certainly be against the odds.

McCoy hosted "Camp Colt" in Texas this summer, bringing in Brown players for workouts. Will that be enough to have his team ready for the season?

Aldon Smith

Learning a new position is always tough for rookies. Moving from defensive end in college to outside linebacker in the NFL is one of the hardest transitions a rookie can make. Will Aldon Smith beat the odds and slide easily into a starting role at outside linebacker?

The lockout, and loss of training camp days, will make the odds significantly higher that Smith's first season is a wash due to a lack of preparation.

Plaxico Burress

Spending two years in prison will slow you down a bit. Just ask Plaxico Burress.

Players like Burress, who have reason to wish they were in an NFL training camp and not sitting at home, will be hurt most by the lockout.

Burress has spent two years in a small cell—definitely not the best place to get in game shape. If Burress hopes to have any success this season, he needs to get in a camp soon to learn the playbook and get in game shape.

Ryan Kerrigan

It's been said here many times already: Moving from defensive end to outside linebacker is a tough move to make, no matter how long you have been in the NFL.

For guys like Ryan Kerrigan, who will be attempting to make the move in their rookie seasons, the loss of football this summer definitely slows down their transition time.

Kerrigan was a talented pass-rusher at Purdue, but unlike an Aldon Smith, he lacks the pure athleticism to get by on in his rookie season. Time with position coaches and the film room cannot be replaced for Kerrigan.

John Skelton

Poor John Skelton is likely to be replaced when the Cardinals make a trade for Kevin Kolb or Kyle Orton. The question is, did Skelton ever have a chance?

If this had been a normal offseason, there is a chance that Skelton could have shown in OTAs and passing camps that he was the guy Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm need running the show in Arizona.

Instead, Skelton will be pushed down the depth chart by either an unproven quarterback (Kolb) or a veteran who has been so-so (Orton).

Kendric Burney

Rated as the best available free agent, Kendric Burney is losing out on the chance to make an NFL paycheck and an NFL roster each day the lockout lingers.

It will be tough for any undrafted free agent to make an NFL roster this year. Think of it this way: Players actually drafted have probably seen a playbook and had the chance to work out with their new teams. These undrafted free agents have nothing.

They haven't worked out with pro players. They haven't seen a playbook. They are essentially screwed.

The CFL may be a better option for these guys.

Tiki Barber

I continue to believe that Tiki Barber's "comeback" attempt is nothing more than a media ploy to get those of us who talk about football for a living typing his name again.

And hey, it worked. I hadn't thought about Tiki Barber in four years. And here we are, discussing him again.

Barber, if he does really want to play football, will be harmed by the lack of preparation time for the season—both mentally and physically.

Barber never liked taking hits. Four weeks may not be enough time to get his body and mind right before the season.

Mike Pouncey

In the 2010 NFL draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted center Maurkice Pouncey from Florida. He went on to become a Pro Bowl center, anchoring a rag-tag offensive line that held on to make it to the Super Bowl.

In the 2011 NFL draft, the Miami Dolphins tried to copy the Steelers' plan from a year before in drafting Mike Pouncey, Maurkice's twin, and plugging him in at center.

The difference is that Maurkice had all summer and a full training camp to learn the offense, so when it was time for him to step in he knew the checks and line calls, and he was familiar with Ben Roethlisberger's cadence.

Mike will not have the benefit of that learning curve, as he will have approximately six weeks to learn the Dolphins system.

Nate Solder

Draft day 2011 probably ranks as the best day in the life of Nate Solder: being drafted by the New England Patriots and being given the chance to protect the blind side of Tom Brady as the Patriots make a run up to another Super Bowl.

Instead, Solder may sit behind Matt Light at left tackle should the Patriots decide four weeks is not enough time to properly break in new bookend tackle.

Solder has the ability to be a rookie starter in the NFL, but he'll need precious time to learn the complex system in New England.

Derrick Locke

And now we enter our "Undrafted Free Agent" round.

Derrick Locke, one of the best undrafted free agents available, is sitting waiting for a phone call from an NFL team.

It may come as early as next week, once NFL teams are allowed to begin signing those undrafted players. The summer for the UDFA players of 2011 has been unpredictable and surely tiring as they have held onto hopes of an NFL payday and a chance at their dreams.

DeAndre McDaniel

Will the phone ring for those players not drafted in the 2011 NFL draft?

In most years, the phone begins ringing in the sixth round of the draft as teams line up players they think may go undrafted. In 2011, the undrafted players have been waiting almost three months to learn where they will live this year, or if their NFL hopes are over.

For DeAndre McDaniel, a player most expected to be drafted, the wait should result in a job on an NFL roster. At this point, nothing is guaranteed.

Jeron Johnson

Adding to our list of undrafted free agents hurt most by the lockout, I must mention my favorite UDFA—Boise State's Jeron Johnson.

A hard-hitting, undersized strong safety, Johnson has NFL ability but was overlooked due to a lack of elite measurables. But man, can be bring it on the field. A team looking for the next Jim Leonhard should place a phone call to Johnson as soon as they can.

Deunta Williams

It cannot be said enough: The real travesty of this lockout is that 300 undrafted free agents are sitting at home waiting for work.

Sure, these players are not yet part of the NFL, so they deserve no rights or money (yet)—but we can still feel sorry for them.

One guy who could really surprise people as an UDFA is Deunta Williams. He's an athletic free safety with the range to make plays in a Cover 3 defense.

Pat Devlin

Pat Devlin was viewed during the 2010 college football season as a potential second or third-round pick. Many called him the "next Joe Flacco."

He wasn't. Devlin failed to impress NFL scouts in his senior season and would eventually go undrafted through seven rounds of the NFL draft.

So Devlin sits and waits for a call from an NFL team. If any UDFA quarterback from this class has starter material, it's Devlin. Now he just needs a chance to prove it.

Mark Herzlich

One player who surprised most when he went undrafted was Boston College's Mark Herzlich. An active linebacker with the bad luck to be diagnosed with cancer, Herzlich has beat the odds to return to the gridiron.

He will need to beat the odds again to make an NFL roster. As a health risk, Herzlich had red flags on most draft boards. Now that he is not bound to any one NFL team, getting a call and a fair shot in training camp may be all but impossible.

Colin Kaepernick

We've discussed before how tough it is for a rookie to transition from college to the NFL. No job is harder than learning an NFL offense as a rookie quarterback, but that's what Colin Kaepernick will do in San Francisco once the lockout ends.

Some will argue that coaches and players found a way to communicate behind closed doors, but there is no substitute for reps on the field and in the film room. Kaepernick may be the smartest quarterback from the 2011 draft class, but even Albert Einstein would struggle to learn a complex NFL system in a matter of weeks.

Learning an offense takes time, patience and repetition. Kaepernick and his fellow rookie quarterbacks might as well consider this their redshirt season.

Anthony Castonzo

There may not be a higher-pressure job for an offensive lineman than learning the Colts offense and being asked to protect Peyton Manning's blind side. Especially when Manning is coming off two neck surgeries.

Anthony Castonzo will be given the tough task of learning the Indianapolis offense and stepping in as a rookie starter on Manning's left side.

Losing time with Manning to learn his many audibles and checks is invaluable. Good luck, fellas.

Ben Ijalana

Adding insult to injury, the Colts will be working in a new guard alongside their new left tackle.

Ben Ijalana will have the chore of transitioning from Villanova to one of the NFL's most complex and ever-changing offensive systems in Indianapolis.

The Colts wanted both rookies to start Week 1. At this point they may be doing well to start at all this season.

James Harrison

Let's see, what did James Harrison do this summer?

While the rest of us were vacationing and barbecuing by the pool, Harrison was calling Roger Goodell evil and throwing his teammates under the bus.

The lockout gave players like Harrison (read: big mouths) way too much free time.

Cedric Benson

Speaking of free time—Cedric Benson spent his summer getting arrested for the third straight year in Austin, Texas.

At some point they are going to name a cell after 'ole Ced in Travis County.

Kevin Kolb

In any other year, Kevin Kolb would have been traded to his new team well before now. In fact, he probably would have been traded during the NFL draft if there had been more certainty on player movement during that time.

Instead, Kolb will join his new team next week and have three weeks to learn a new offense, the names of his receivers and how fast they are or where their first step will be, and hope that he can do well enough behind a below-average offensive line to justify a new contract.

Kolb is playing against a stacked deck. Many are waiting for him to fail, and the current situation in the NFL isn't helping.

Peyton Manning

I have been an avid predictor that this is the year Peyton Manning really regresses.

Manning spent the summer rehabbing two neck surgeries, but unlike any normal year, he had to rehab away from team doctors and trainers who know his body better than his wife does.

And if that weren't bad enough, Manning will line up with two rookies in front of him next year. Rookies who had three weeks (at best) to prepare for their first preseason game.

Good luck, Mr. Manning. You're going to need it.

Retired Players

We rank them in our lists of the greatest players ever. We put a smile on when remembering the way their best days are like landmarks in our pasts. And then we forget them.

The retired players of the NFL, treated like the red-headed step children of today's football players, deserve better.

These men built the NFL into what it is today, most of them living off meager pensions that barely cover food and rent, much less medical expenses.

It's a sad day when we pay rookies $50 million before they take their first snap in an NFL game, but the players who sacrificed years off their life for this game are dying without proper medical care.