With the NFL and NFLPA seemingly in a stalemate right now when it comes to their negotiations on a new CBA, there was some talk recently that there could be a boycott of the 2011 NFL Combine. Obviously the players that would be working out at the combine aren't under contract and therefore aren't technically part of the NFLPA yet, but the thinking was that agents could come together and agree to have their clients skip the annual scouting event in Indianapolis.
I was a bit skeptical of any plans for a boycott just because I didn't see how every agent would agree to this, nor did I think the future rookies would collectively agree to skip the combine. For a guy out there that needs to improve his draft stock, it would just be a disservice to himself to skip out on the combine, especially if other players planned on not showing up. It would go a long way if somebody that was projected to be undrafted was one of the only guys at the combine, so really this plan just didn't make a ton of sense when it came down to it.
Considering this idea of a boycott was likely destined to fail, it won't be happening. From Pro Football Talk:
In a Monday conference call with NFLPA-certified agents, the union and the agents agreed that incoming rookies won’t be asked to boycott next week’s Scouting Combine.
Boycotting the draft has also been thrown around as something that might happen. There's no official word on if it's even being considered, but it would certainly be more feasible than getting all of these future rookies to skip out on an event like the combine, which could play a big role in if or when they get drafted come April.