Life of a Free Agent: Don't Burn Bridges, and Every Game Is a Job Interview

NFL free agency is a process of commodifying football players.

I’ve done it, and so have you. Over the next few weeks conversations around the league will revolve around dollars and the economy of football.

Meanwhile, there are people behind those dollars. People who are making complex decisions.

Families are uprooted and moved across the country, possibly to a new home where the state taxes are vastly different. Uncertainty comes with being a free agent, along with concern and even self doubt, especially among the mid- to low-tier players clawing to prove their value.

Free agency isn’t always a matter of waiting for riches. For many, it’s a process of finding a way to hold on and persevere, while also balancing a life that can become nomadic.

Halfback turned fullback Jackie Battle is well versed in that existence. Battle went undrafted in 2007, and he was released three times while shuffling between the Kansas City Chiefs active roster and practice squad early in his career. He’s quite familiar with the lack of security that comes with one-year contracts, as he's signed a new one each of the past four offseasons.

Yet the 31-year-old has stuck around for eight NFL seasons, starting with the Chiefs, then moving on to the San Diego Chargers and Tennessee Titans while alternating between halfback, fullback and special teams. Battle has scored a victory for a highly populated group of free agents: role players who are critical but rank far below the Ndamukong Suhs each March.

What’s life like beyond the top free-agent tiers? And how do those one-year deals keep coming? I had a phone conversation with Battle recently about those questions and more as he prepares to be judged by the open market once again.

Some wisdom that leads the standard free-agent guidebook: Never burn bridges, have a great personal support system and remember every week—no, every snap—is a job interview.

Oh, and being versatile is important, too. Really, really important.

Bleacher Report: You’ve played 96 NFL games despite going undrafted and being released three times. Is there a certain aspect of your approach to the game that’s made you a valuable asset?

Jackie Battle: I think the biggest thing is just doing whatever they ask me to do. I’ve done a lot of different things in my career. I’ve played special teams, which has been key for me because teams are always going to keep a couple special teams guys.

Being versatile is key, and over the past year, that translated over to offense when I made a move to fullback. Versatility is huge because teams always like a guy they can plug in anywhere and feel confident, and that’s how I’ve stuck around. The biggest thing is being coachable. Not a lot of guys can play multiple positions and know what to do.

Games	Receptions	Total Yards	TDs	Special teams tackles
96	38	1,425	10	32

B/R: There’s clearly physical talent needed to be versatile and make yourself appealing as a free agent. But how much of it is mental too?

Jackie Battle: That’s huge. For me, physically I can do a lot of things because of my size [Battle is 6’2”, 240 lbs.]. At the same time I’m fast, so coaches think they can slide me in at multiple positions.

But mentally, you may not be capable of knowing more than one position. To play in NFL, knowing one position is hard enough. Whenever they feel confident you can do more than one thing and play multiple positions, I think that makes you a valuable asset to a lot of teams.

B/R: Overall, do you think versatility is a key selling point for a player if they’re not in that first or second tier of free agents?

Jackie Battle: Absolutely. I’ve always been a bubble player while making a roster.

Being versatile has put me over the edge. Coaches think, “Well, if we keep Jackie, at least there’s one thing we do know: He can play anywhere on special teams, and if we need him to play some fullback he can do that too, along with H-back.”

Versatility has been the main thing that’s kept me in the league this long.

B/R: If you were to give any advice to a younger free agent, is that something you’d really stress?

Jackie Battle: There are a few things. The first is versatility, and the second is not to burn any bridges, with any coaches on any staff.

Coaching staffs change just as much as rosters do. Last year my special teams coach from Kansas City ended up being an assistant special teams coach at Tennessee. So he put a good word in for me there.

It’s kind of been that way most of my career. Someone on a coaching staff or even in the front office has known me from somewhere else. You don’t want to burn any bridges, because you never know who’s going to end up in another position and can help you out later as a free agent.

B/R: How much does family life enter into your decision-making as a free agent?

Jackie Battle: I don’t want to say that football took precedent early in my career, but I just went wherever someone wanted me to play, regardless of what the city was like and if it was family oriented. It didn’t matter.

Now that I’m a little older with two kids [a seven-month old and a two-year old] and my wife, I take family into consideration more. That’s how I ended up in Nashville. It’s a great family town, and I knew some other guys here. My family loved it.

Mark Zaleski/Associated Press

B/R: Is there ever a concern about changing environments too much and how it could affect family life? Or is that simply an accepted reality?

Jackie Battle: It is an accepted reality, but at the same time I do know guys who have a hard time with it. Especially if their kids are older and in school. They already have their friends, or they’re plugged in at churches. It’s hard to move around a lot.

Some guys on my team this past year, their family actually stayed in their hometown while they played during the season. They would travel home whenever they could, and their kids would come up whenever they could. That’s hard, and I think it’s really important for your family to be grounded somewhere.

B/R: In your interactions with other players, how much do those personal choices—whether they’re tied to family, finances or simply living preferences—factor into a free-agency decision beyond football concerns?

Jackie Battle: It all depends who we’re talking about. That first-tier free agent, he’s going to have a lot of options, and he’ll be able to consider a lot of those outside factors. But if you’re talking to a guy who may not have as many options, he’s going to go wherever somebody will let him play.

I think, for the most part, free agents really take the money into consideration, and taxes are another thing people overlook. Playing out in California and New York, you’re taking a 10-percent pay cut right off the bat from state taxes. So guys definitely consider that, too.

And then there’s the city itself, the coaching staff and how well you get along with the coaches. There are so many things that go into consideration if you’re one of those top-tier guys. But then some of them dwindle away when you’re among the bottom tiers.

You just go where you can fit. If someone wants you, you’re going to go.

B/R: That’s difficult for some mid-tier free agents, I assume. Football is something they’re passionate about, but everyone also wants to have some life circumstances they enjoy. That must be a tough balance.

Jackie Battle: There’s definitely a balance.

For instance, I played in San Diego a few years ago. A beautiful town, but it really wasn’t our style. My wife and I are from Texas [Battle hails from Houston], so we’re a little country.

That’s why we fit well in Kansas City and Nashville. But then San Diego wasn’t a great fit for my family. It was just a little too different for us.

Ed Zurga/Associated Press

B/R: What’s your outlook on free agency this time around then? Is there anything different this year, now that you’ve been through the process a few times and have gained some experience?

Jackie Battle: This year will be a little different because it’s the first after my full transition to fullback. I’ve always been listed as a backup or emergency fullback.

So I don’t know how that’s going to work this year in the free-agent market. Will I be looked at as a fullback, or as a running back? I kind of don’t know how I’m going to be viewed, so that’s a little different and it makes me a bit nervous.

Personally, I still want to play running back. So if the right opportunity comes up where I can play some short yardage and goal-line back, I would definitely jump on it as fast as possible.

But I really don’t know. This year is a lot different than what it’s been in the past.

B/R: You stressed how important it is to be versatile, especially for those lower-tier free agents. But can versatility also hurt your chances if a coaching staff doesn’t know how to slot you in?

Jackie Battle: I think it can potentially hurt a bit.

For me, it depends how I’m viewed. Previously I was used as a running back who could play other positions. Now I may be seen as a fullback who might be able to play other positions.

That’s a totally different ball game when you have a skill guy who could be a fullback, and now I may be looked at as a fullback who might be able to play tailback.

B/R: It's all about finding a way to slide in and catch a coach’s eye on film, right? You just need to pop out somehow.

Jackie Battle: Oh definitely. Every single week, you show up on Sunday and it’s a job interview. Especially if you’re on a one-year deal. All that game film you’re pumping out, that’s your resume, and you have to take advantage of every opportunity.

When you have chances to be on the field, that’s how you have to look at it. Coaches will go back and look at film, and you’re building that resume every snap.