2019 Off-Season Update

[Goodell]

As we're in the final day of the college draft, keep in mind that any eligible draftees who are not selected will become undrafted free agents available to sign. I will release them into free agency tomorrow morning.

Wednesday, May 1st at 9 AM ET

Also remember that teams have a 100K budget for signing bonuses to undrafted free agents (UDFA) so that's part of the strategy after the draft if you're going to go all in on one targeted UDFA or spread it around in smaller amounts to more prospects to increase your odds of one of them panning out.

Just hit the "UDFA" button in free agency to find undrafted players now available for signing. If there are any UDFAs you want to sign that aren't listed, send me a PM to have them added.

[Goodell]

Now that we're at June 1st, a couple things have changed. Cap hit splits are unlimited for cuts/trades, UDFAs have been turned to UFAs so no limits on signing bonuses, and the signing soon and other notices of bidding in free agency have been turned off for the remainder of the season.

[Goodell]

With training camps here and drafted NFL contracts signed, we'll be automatically signing our 3-7 rounders this weekend and soon after making 1st and 2nd rounders available to be signed, so be on the watch for that soon.

[Goodell]

With training camps here and drafted NFL contracts signed, we'll be automatically signing our 3-7 rounders this weekend and soon after making 1st and 2nd rounders available to be signed, so be on the watch for that soon.

Draft picks from rounds 3-7 have been automatically signed. You can now click the link next to your drafted players on the team roster to manually sign players from rounds 1-2 if you have cap space to do so. Let me know if any questions, thanks!

[Goodell]

The player grades have been updated for the new year. Let me know if you notice any problems. There are still a couple of lower grade mismatches I'm working through, but the majority of grades have been updated.

Remember that grades are continually updated throughout the season, so a player's grade today could go up or down weekly after week 1 as grades are adjusted throughout the season as madden player rankings updated.

[Goodell]

Early next week we'll start transitioning into regular season mode as teams make final roster preparations by Sept. 5th.

Currently with the rule of 51 (link after player list on team roster) only the top 51 salaries are counting against the cap in the off-season. A team can have 90 players in training camp, but not all of them go toward the cap.

That changes as we move into regular season mode ahead. By mid next week all players on your roster will go toward the cap. We'll be flexible as teams make final decisions, but all teams have to be at/under 53 man roster and under salary cap by the evening of Sept. 5 the first NFL game of the season. Teams that are not in compliance at that time will be at risk of GM replacement and/or having the league make roster modifications. We won't start the regular sim season until all teams in all leagues in compliance, so heads up the next two weeks will be busy.

[RyanM]

When will you add the "Cut to Practice Squad" option?

[Goodell]

When will you add the "Cut to Practice Squad" option?

Good question. At that same time, early next week when I switch over to regular season mode.

[Goodell]

As noted, we have switched into Regular Season mode this week. It's just over a week until our 53 man roster deadlines. All teams were under the salary cap at the time I made the switch (it was only counting top 51 salaries during the off-season). Now many teams will be over their caps now that we're counting everybody like the regular season, but we'll be flexible with that until the 9/5 deadline.

- Make sure your team is at the 53 man roster and under salary cap by 9/5 after first NFL game starts.

- We've added the 1 extra contract restructuring teams get during the regular season if a team needs last minute help getting under their cap.

- You can now cut players to the practice squad (if they clear waivers). Practice squad players are not under contract with you, though, and can be claimed or signed by any other team at any time. You'll just have the ability to match a deal to keep them on your active roster if signed elsewhere.

- Make sure to check your DEPTH CHART for the new season.

[Knighty Knight]

Will injury and suspensions be updated this weekend?