Posted by Ryan Wilson

NFL owners and players are meeting Tuesday on Maryland's eastern shore in an effort to end the 91-day lockout as soon as possible, according to reports from NFL.com and ESPN.

This is the third time this month the two sides have convened in an undisclosed location to make progress towards a new collective bargaining agreement (and this time, with lawyers). Last Friday, for the first time since the lockout began in March, hopes seemed high for a speedy resolution to a labor dispute that once appeared as if it could go on indefinitely.

"NFL owners have a one-day meeting scheduled in suburban Chicago next Tuesday, and they are planning to meet once a month until the situation is resolved," NFL.com's Albert Breer reported Tuesday. "A memo went out to owners asking that they keep their schedules for next week flexible, in case the June 21 meeting spills into Tuesday night or even Wednesday."

Latest on the lockout

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ESPN's Chris Mortensen writes that "Sources have characterized the owners and players as being in a 'deal-making mode' and hope to make significant progress over the next two or three days."

The NFL estimates that canceling the preseason could cost upwards of $1 billion, which means that the longer the lockout drags on, the more likely it is that the owners will be in danger of losing serious dough. Sources tell Breer that "internal deadlines to have some semblance of a 'normal' preseason with the games preserved sit on or around July 15." That gives both parties a month to sort things out.

More background on Tuesday's gathering, via the Associated Press:

A person with knowledge of the talks told The Associated Press that the owners and players are "headed in the right direction" and that lawyers "are back in the room" after being excluded from sessions the past two weeks. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the meeting are not being made public.

Two other people familiar with the talks say a framework for a new collective bargaining agreement could be in place before the owners gather next Tuesday. ... Still, it would be premature to predict that lockout is about to end, the people familiar with the talks told the AP. Yet the atmosphere of negotiations has been more positive than it was previously, creating "a sense of movement," they said.

That movement toward an agreement might be in both sides' best interest after a federal appeals court judge warned the owners and players they might not like the upcoming decisions in legal actions sparked by the lockout. Indeed, the court could delay any rulings if a new CBA appears to be near.

The AP reports that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell; NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith; several owners, including the Giants' John Mara and the Cowboys' Jerry Jones; and a large group of players that includes NFLPA President Kevin Mawae, Jeff Saturday, Mike Vrabel, Tony Richardson and Domonique Foxworth, were all on hand at the meeting.

For the first time all spring there is much to be optimistic about. Not only are the owners and players willing to work together, they're doing it now, well before deadlines could legitimately imperil a 2011 season.

If the lockout ends in the coming weeks, Goodell, who was roundly booed at the April draft, will have suddenly saved his legacy. Because in the end, all fans want is football. They don't much care how we get to that point.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

In case you needed confirmation that the NFL and the NFLPA are engaged in secret meetings this week – although you SHOULDN’T since CBSSports.com’s own Mike Freeman reported it Tuesday night – the two sides have released a statement.

"NFL owners and players have engaged in further confidential discussions before Chief Magistrate Judge Boylan this week,” the statement reads.

The two sides are meeting somewhere in New York – some reports have pinpointed the meetings to Long Island – and according to NFL.com, the NFLPA is represented by DeMaurice Smith, Kevin Mawae, Jeff Saturday, Mike Vrabel, Tony Richardson and Domonique Foxworth.

Meanwhile, the NFL is represented by commissioner Roger Goodell, New York Giants owner John Mara, Kansas City’s Clark Hunt, New England’s Robert Kraft, Carolina’s Jerry Richardson and San Diego’s Dean Spanos.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

The third day of labor negotiations between the NFL owners and the NFLPA came and went today, and still, nobody talked afterward.

But as NFL.com’s Albert Breer, who’s been braving cold weather and boredom while covering the behind-doors negotiations, points out, the two sides met for a combined 20 hours these past three days with the two sides planning to continue talks Monday as well.

Today, the two sides met for eight hours, the longest since they started on their seven-day stretch of bargaining.

Still, as per the request made by special mediator George Cohen, neither side is commenting.

"You know we're not going to give you any information," NFL outside lawyer Bob Batterman said, via the Associated Press. "I can't say anything, other than the fact that we are meeting."

Said Jets FB Tony Richardson: "Conversation is good.”

So, can we surmise anything from this? Other than the consensus that the fact the owners and the union are STILL meeting is a great sign, there’s no telling what’s going on inside the meetings.

But if you want to be cautiously optimistic, I doubt anybody will stop you.

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Posted by Will Brinson



Got a link for the Hot Routes? Hit us up on Twitter (@CBSSportsNFL).

• Raheem Morris told Baltimore writers this week that regardless of what pick the Bucs had in the 2009 NFL Draft, they would have taken Josh Freman. Now, typically, that's either a statement entirely fueled by the hindsight of a Joe Montana-like steal or a really, really crappy draft. It's a little bit of both in this case, as there have been some good selections that developed out of those top picks (Pro Bowlers Brian Orakpo, Brian Cushing and Clay Matthews in addition to Mark Sanchez, Michael Crabtree, Jeremy Maclin and Hakeem Nicks) but Freeman's also a special talent that people are falling in love with. That being said, this is similar to the "We're the best team in the NFC" bit -- if Tampa had the first pick, they COULDN'T take Freeman first overall, because his inherent awesomeness would be suppressed because of his monster contract. Instead, they'd trade down and pick him up later in addition to something else. But I get what Raheem's saying.

• Keith Null is "braced for action" when it comes to playing with the Panthers. What I wanna know is why the Panthers haven't called my cuz Riley Skinner (from Wake Forest, currently living in Charlotte) yet. Null came to Carolina when Brian St. Pierre turned them down the first time by the way.

• Chris Harris (who's our boy on Twitter) says that Julius Peppers is just "scratching the surface" of his potential. That's good news for the Bears, if Jules can harness his full potential in time for a playoff run, but, um, welcome to Peppers career.

• I'm a little biased towards Andre Brown (NCSU guy), but I agree with him, and the Redskins coaching staff, in an optimistic view that he could succeed with Mike Shanahan and the Redskins. It's a much better fit than his first 25 teams.

• Turf Show Times takes a look at whether or not the Rams are a playoff team. In the NFC West, yes, 7-9 could backdoor you a spot out of the NFC West.

• Pete Carroll's got "mad respect*" (that's what the kids are saying after all) for Matt Cassell's tenacity in refusing to give up, always playing as hard as he can on the practice squad and eventually getting an incredible injury opening that led to a monster contract. Or something. *No, he didn't actually say that.

• 49ers DE Justin Smith will start his 150th consecutive game on Monday. And he doesn't think it's a big deal at all.

• You would think that the Chargers are rooting for Philip Rivers to break Dan Marino's season passing yards record, but you would be wrong -- and neither is Phil, simply because when they pass too much, they lose.

• Michael Clayton and Eli Manning have chemistry. Who knew?

• Jenny Vrentas of the New Jersey Star-Ledger has a fantastic story about Tony Richardson's work with a teen who has cystic fibrosis. 

Posted by Will Brinson

Yesterday, the New York Jets chose to cut veteran fullback and team leader Tony Richardson.

Today, they have re-signed him .

The news shouldn't be that surprising, since the Jets clearly wanted to keep Richardson all along. In fact, it was believed/understood that following his late cut, the Jets would seek to re-ink him with less guaranteed money on the line.

Two factors played into the release of Richardson -- money, and the emergence of "Hard Knocks" star John Conner (a.k.a. "The Terminator) who's the biggest mancrush Rex Ryan's ever had.

But Conner's inexperience and the need for leaders in the Jets' slightly wild and plenty young locker room is precisely why Richardson is back.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

If you didn’t know about Jets FB Tony Richardson before Hard Knocks began its latest run, you have learned about him the past month.

You’ve learned about his leadership, about how much he’s loved in the New York organization, about how much respect he’s earned as he was entering his 16th season.

None of that, though, saved the three-time Pro Bowler from getting cut today.

Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reported the news, and as the decision made its way around the Internet, many were left confused. Maybe we shouldn’t have been surprised, as Manish Mehta of the NY Daily News writes:

In a bit of eerie foreshadowing, GM Mike Tannenbaum intimidated in last week's episode of HBO's Hard Knocks that Richardson may be on his way out. In an exchange with Ryan, the GM specifically pointed out Richardson, WR Laveranues Coles and LB Lance Laury as three players whose salaries were above the veterans' minimum.

During that conversation, (Rex) Ryan went to bat for Richardson, one of the unquestioned leaders on the team. The coach told Tannenbaum that Richardson was an integral part of the Jets' ground-and-pound philosophy. Ryan pointed out how close the team was to the Super Bowl playing that smash-mouth style of football.

Now, Richardson is gone.

Another interesting point is that Ryan ripped into his team for a lack of leadership. Meanwhile, the Jets had cut ties with veteran leaders Alan Faneca, Thomas Jones and Leon Washington.

The Jets obviously lose another veteran by whacking Richardson.

The Jets could opt to bring him back after Week 1, meaning his salary wouldn’t be guaranteed throughout the season. But that’s not a definite either (another team could want him and sign him, Richardson might decide he’s through with football, the Jets might not want him back, etc.).

Either way, it’s a sad day for the people who got to know Richardson a little bit this past month.

UPDATE (9:16 p.m.): A quote by Tannenbaum on Richardson: “We appreciate Tony’s contributions and leadership over the past two seasons and have nothing but the highest respect for him as a person and as a player.”

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