If next year in the NFL were guaranteed to be like most other years, there’s little (no?) doubt that A.J. Green would be earmarked for the April draft and the millions of guaranteed dollars that come with being a high first-round pick.
With a potential lockout looming, however, there’s no guarantee there will even be a partial NFL season next year, let alone a full one. And that uncertain labor landscape is something draft-eligible players like the Georgia wide receiver will be forced to consider when the time comes to decide whether to leave collegiate eligibility on the table.
The potential of a lockout seems to have found a home in at least the back of Green’s mind already, and perhaps gives a sliver of hope to UGA fans that they won’t have seen the last of the outstanding receiver once the book is closed on the 2010 season.
“That’s really gonna play a big part in my decision,” Green said of the uncertainty over a new collective bargaining agreement. “Because if they’re talking about a lockout, there’s really no point in me leaving.”
Green says, though, he "[hasn’t] made that decision yet” despite everyone not emblazoned with UGA logos and colors locking him into the April 2011 draft. And, when the time comes to make a decision, Green says “you’ve got to do what’s best for you.”
Still, while Green seems to have left the door slightly ajar for a return, and even given his leery eye cast toward the unstable labor situation, there’s still little doubt that Green will officially slam that door between now and mid-January, the deadline for draft-eligible players to submit their paperwork for early entry to the NFL.