NFL Cancels Veteran Combine: Latest Comments and Reaction

After giving players an opportunity to showcase their skills in front of scouts for all 32 teams last year, the NFL has cancelled the 2016 veteran combine. 

Per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the decision was made due to lack of interest from teams.

Much like the NFL's annual scouting combine for draft-eligible players, the veteran combine was designed as a showcase for free agents and players who are at least one year out of college with no experience in regular-season games. 

When the NFL announced the veteran combine last year, there were approximately 2,000 applicants, with 105 players from that group chosen to showcase their abilities in front of scouts at the Arizona Cardinals' practice facility. 

What seemed like a good idea in theory, because hidden gems can be found anywhere, turned out to be a non-factor in practice. Nine players were signed by NFL teams within two weeks of the event. Linebacker Brandon Copeland appeared in all 16 games for the Detroit Lions last season. 

Copeland and Cardinals tight end Ifeanyi Momah were the only veteran combine players who signed with a team and made it to the opening-week 53-man roster. 

There was optimism after the first veteran combine last year that it could be an annual event for the league, with NFL.com's Marc Sessler and Conor Orr noting all of the heavy-hitters who were in attendance:

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We spotted a smattering of general managers including Oakland's Reggie McKenzie, Minnesota's Rick Spielman, Kansas City's John Dorsey, Green Bay's Ted Thompson and Giants general manager Jerry Reese. A final count put the number of scouts at close to 100, nothing close to the Senior Bowl, but not a bad start for an event that should become a mainstay.

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Instead, the veteran combine quickly became obsolete due to the lack of interest from teams and, as Smith wrote, redundant because veteran players who don't have a contract are allowed to work out for a team at any time. 

NFL teams are not ignoring veteran players for rookies. They are just looking at the talent pool on both sides and mostly betting on the unknown players with higher ceilings.