The lockout is lifted, but around the Jaguars and the National Football League, a state of limbo remained.
U.S. District Judge Susan Nelson's ordering an immediate end to the seven-week NFL lockout Monday touched off a slew of stories and speculation about the possibility of players immediately returning to work, but as of Tuesday morning, no players had attempted to return to Everbank Field.
While players around the NFL are able to return to team facilities, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Tuesday football activities will not resume immediately.
"We are going to proceed in an orderly way that is fair to the teams and players and complies with court orders," Aiello said in a statement. "Players are being treated with courtesy and respect at club facilities. We do not believe it is appropriate for football activities to take place until there are further rulings from the court.
"Under the last set of proposals made to the NFLPA, teams wouldn&39;t even be into offseason programs yet. We need a few days to sort this out, as NFLPA attorney Jim Quinn indicated last night."
The NFL on Monday responded to Nelsen's ruling by filing a notice of appeals questioning whether the ruling exceeded her jurisdiction and also issued the following statement:
"We will promptly seek a stay from Judge Nelson pending an expedited appeal to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. We believe that federal law bars injunctions in labor disputes. We are confident that the Eighth Circuit will agree.
"But we also believe that this dispute will inevitably end with a collective bargaining agreement, which would be in the best interests of players, clubs and fans. We can reach a fair agreement only if we continue negotiations toward that goal."
