Thanks to the new collective bargaining agreement that went into effect last summer, signing draft picks has never been easier. The days of extended holdouts from rookies are in the past, and getting deals done doesn't take nearly as much time.

Many teams have already signed several of their 2012 NFL Draft picks, and it appears the Detroit Lions are set to join the fray. With the Lions' rookie minicamp coming up on Friday and the team's rookies coming to town, Dave Birkett reports that some deals could be signed as early as tomorrow.

Sounds like the Lions are close to having some of their rookie deals done. I'd expect a couple tomorrow when guys get into town for camp

— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) May 9, 2012

With training camp still months away, there's no real rush to get these deals done, unlike last year when everything was compacted into a few weeks. Even so, it'd be nice to get the signings out of the way so all focus can be on football for the draft picks.

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