Clayton: D'Brickashaw Ferguson Among Most to Gain from Lockout Resolution

ESPN's John Clayton did a list of ten players who had the most to gain from a resolution to the lockout. D'Brickashaw Ferguson was one of them.

2. Jets left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson and players with workout bonuses: Ferguson is due a $750,000 workout bonus, but the lockout has taken away all team workouts. If a CBA is reached by July 4, maybe the New York Jets can schedule a minicamp and Ferguson can get his money. If not, he will have to try to file a grievance claiming that the workout bonus was a term of his rookie contract and that the Jets deprived him of the chance to collect that money.

Most of Clayton's guys are on the list due to either contract status or seeking a new team. I think the real guys with the most to gain (or at least most to lose if it is not resolved quickly) are almost universally rookies. I think of rookie quarterbacks in particular. I think back to quarterbacks who have lost at least part of their rookie training camp to holdouts. It includes the likes of Kyle Boller and JaMarcus Russell. Even Philip Rivers, who eventually became very successful, lost the chance to start to Drew Brees. At a position like that, the learning curve is steep enough without missing critical instructional time. Be thankful this did not happen when Mark Sanchez was a rookie.

Brick and the Jets will be fine by comparison.